GATE: A World of Shame & Glory
by Apollonir
Summary: UK, Germany, Canada, USA and Italy send troops to aid the JSDF in the Special Region. Follow the clash of modern vs medieval, technology and magic, the adventures of an international RCT3 (Itami's squad - 4 new British members - 4 German members) through a terrible conflict against men and gods, a clash to change it all. [EXTRA FANTASY ELEMENTS LIKE MAGES, SUPERNATURAL AND BEASTS]
1. Ch 1 - Clash at Alnus Hill

AN: Story does not stray too much from the GATE Universe. The start is similar but the story will take other paths as it goes on.

* * *

Story starts right after the JSDF comes through the gate. But it does not come alone. Japan along with a small NATO contingent containing troops from USA, UK, Germany, Canada, Italy.

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Clash at Alnus Hill**

D-Day + 20 days

 **Alnus Hill, Gen. Hazama's bureau.**

General Hazama addressing to his officers.

"Gentlemen, the international units have arrived. Yanagida, please tell us more about the soldiers sent by our friends."

"Yes sir! Replies Yanagida with a short salute. As you know, we have the most men at the moment, 8.000 soldiers with adequate light and heavy weaponry, plus logistics. Italy sent an infantry unit of 500 soldiers with M113 APCs. They will assume guard duties of Alnus Base at the given moment. They are followed by Germany and Canada who agreed on a tank battalion composed of 1.000 soldiers and 20 Leopard 2A6 main battle tanks. Since their armies use the same tank, they will share the logistics. They will stay as a reserve in the base at the moment and assume guard duties. The British did not send any heavy armor, just light artillery and light vehicles with infantry. They will share the Bradley IFVs with the Americans since they have been trained on them. The U.S. brought 20 tanks too, their M1A2 Abrams. We will provide all the air support for now. From what I hear, the U.S. wants to bring three A-10 Warthogs in the near future. For logistics reasons, our allies will all be using the M4 assault rifle, the M240G light machine gun, the M1911 sidearm and the Humvee and many more. I don't think I'm telling lies when I say that the last ones (Americans) are always eager for a fight."

"Thank you, Yanagida. Gentlemen, I want you to prepare a few recon teams. I want to learn more about what we are dealing with here. A UAV spotted large enemy formations marching on our positions. They are not the same as we met in Ginza and when we first arrived here. They are bearing different colors and armor. Tend to your subordinates and prepare yourselves for another fight."

* * *

 **Somewhere in the Special Region**

King Duran's army was orderly marching towards Alnus Hill. He was riding his horse on the right side of the column but his thoughts were not here. His mind was somewhere else. He was deep in thought and it took a few attempts from one of his officers to bring him back from wherever his mind was flying.

"My king!"

"Ouh, ugh… what is it?" Duran's low voice replied to his shouts.

"Sir, we will arrive at the meeting point in one day if we don't set camp for the night. A messenger arrived to inform us that the armies of Mudwan, League and Alguna are already there, their commanders preparing the battle strategy but will be waiting for you before making a move."

"Has the Imperial Army arrived?" the king asked his man.

"I do not know, my lord. The messenger did not say anything about this."

"I see. Send word that we won't be making any camp before we meet with the Allied Army."

Duran then turned his eyes towards his soldiers. He had this feeling in his stomach… one too familiar… "This happens always before a battle… but I have a bad feeling about this one in particular."

* * *

 **Near Alnus Hill, Allied Army camp**

D-Day + 21 days, evening

A few kilometers away from the JSDF base was the Allied camp. There was a lot of movement and noise as soldiers of every nation was drinking, singing and having a good time. The few dragon riders, arrogant as always due to their role as dragon riders, were separated from the others and tending to their companions in battle. In the middle of the camp was a large ornate tent with guards on every side.

"What do we know of our enemy?" asked Duran.

"Not much…they have been building defenses for a few days now. My scouts were here long before us and kept an eye on them.", King of League jumped in.

"They are one strange army. My men told me they wear green dotted clothes and a few of them are in gray. I recon they are a nation like the empire." added the Alguan king.

That made Duran rise an eyebrow. "Hmm? Why do you say that?"

"They are bearing a white flag with a large red circle in the middle from which red lines come. There are five other flags: one with red and white stripes with a blue corner, one with horizontal black, red and orange stripes, one with green, white and red, another one is somewhat like a red leaf on a white background and the last one is somewhat strange. The first flag is in larger numbers, thus I concluded they must be the sovereign army and the others are vassals."

"How many are there?"

"More than 10.000. We have 10 soldiers for every one of theirs. And not counting our elephants, dragon riders, catapults and ogres." Mudwani king answered Duran's question.

King of League gazed into Duran's worried eyes before proudly saying "I will take the front lines tomorrow and lead my men in an assault to retake the hill. An Imperial messenger delivered a letter from Molt. The Emperor says his army is marching from Italica. Yet he presses us to attack as soon as we can."

"Then they will be here in one day at the most. I suggest we do not hurry and wait for them to arrive. Then we can encircle the hill on every side and launch an all out attack. My lords, I have a bad feeling about this… Something just seems wrong."

"Is the mighty Duran, the Lion of Elbe, cowering?"

"Do not take my caution for fear and cowardice. Do you all three agree on holding on longer before attacking?"

The four kings have agreed on waiting one more day before making a move on Alnus Hill.

* * *

 **Near the Allied Camp**

Up in a tree were First Lt. Itami of the JGSDF and Lt. Alistair of the British Army gazing through their binoculars. Lt. Alistair was a man in his 40s with brown to black hair color. He liked his beard trimmed short and his hair cut as best as possible but not bald.

"What do you think, Itami?"

"Not much. I just hope we can scare them off and avoid the bloodshed. Tell me Alistair, how long has it been?"

"Since when?"

"Since we met. Back in the U.S.A. during the joint exercises."

"Two years? Yeah, almost two years."

"And? How's life been since?"

"Regular life. Sister got married and moved just across the street from our parents' house. Then I was redeployed in Afghanistan for three more months with my unit. Lost a good friend there."

"I'm sorry to hear that. How?"

"IED (improvised explosive device). How have you been?"

"Ouh… Well… Risa and I divorced after I returned home from the States. There was nothing interesting afterwards. Just enjoying my free time. Until Ginza… Then all hell broke loose."

Alistair checks his watch then proceeds to bring his radio closer to his mouth. "It is time, Itami. This is Sentinel to Scarecrow! Come in Scarecrow!"

After two seconds he received a reply from a male voice with a Japanese accent: "Scarecrow to Sentinel, we hear you. Give us the coordinates."

"Right. We picked off a nice spot for our play today. 1-1-0 0-9-0. Range: 4km. How copy?"

"Solid copy! 1-1-0 0-9-0, 4km. Fire!"

General Hazama came up with an idea to try scare the Allied Army by firing smoke bombs on their positions to induce fear and confusion in their ranks. Many were skeptic about this plan but it was worth a try. He deployed his Type-74 tanks in the first line of defense facing the enemy camp. The tanks were flanked by older Gepard SPAAGs (self propelled anti air guns), 81mm mortars and infantry. Three hundred meters behind them was the second line of defense. The Abrams and Leopards were stationed inside the base, ready to counterattack any flanking maneuver performed by the enemy.

In a few moments, the 155mm howitzers of the JGSDF opened fire, launching their smoke bombs on the enemy camp. The shells flew through the air for a few seconds before landing among soldiers and animals, spreading its payload. Scared soldiers were falling to the ground, unable to see through the smoke and barely able to breathe. Horses were running amok through the camp, breaking down tents and injuring people.

"Man, they must have pissed their pants! Look at that, we've smoked them good."

"I'd like to sit around and watch, but they serve pizza tonight. Let's go. I don't want to miss the good food. Ain't going to let Kuribayashi and Kurata eat my share too."

"Kuribayashi? Where… ah yeah! Isn't she the small monster with tits?"

"Oy! Don't say that when she is around if you want to keep your bones intact. Let's get moving."

* * *

 **Allied Army camp**

D-Day + 22 days, afternoon

King Duran was making his way to the commanders' tent. On his way there he saw dead soldiers carried in carts coming from the southern part of the base. They had no wounds. The heavy smoke was fatal to them. "What in the world happened there?" he asked himself. Their clothes were leaving a heavy smoke aroma in the air. Duran knew this was going to affect the morale, soldiers dead before the fight. He ordered those around him to make ready for battle.

Outside the camp, just 3km from the first defensive line, the Leaguan King was organizing his men in battle formation. Duran came before him.

"Take care out there and return with as many men as possible. I will make ready behind with the Alguan king's detachment. We will follow behind you." and raised his hand in a friendly salute.

"I will do my best, Duran! Take care!". He watched Duran gallop away before taking his sword out, raising his hand and pointing southwards. "Forward!".

Little did they know that shortly they would be torn asunder by lighting and thunder. When Duran heard the explosions not too far away he knew the battle started. He rushed with the second wave forwards. When they reached the top of a small hill the ugly truth of war revealed to them: soldiers torn apart, hands and legs and heads and flesh painted the grass red with blood. Smoke was coming out from the ground riddled with holes. The few survivors were running, screaming in horror. Duran grabbed one from his arm and shook him.

"What happened here!? Tell me, young man!" but only screams of agony came from his mouth. After taking a punch in his chin, he became lucid again.

"The sound! It came from the sky, whizzing down and then fire! Fire and death! Lighting and thunder! Our king was blown to dust by the very same magic!"

Duran let him go and clenched his fists before ordering a general retreat.

* * *

 **Allied Army camp**

D-Day + 23 days

One commander down. Duran was wondering where the hell the Imperial Army was. They were supposed to be here yesterday. Something was definitely wrong here. Could they have met the enemy? But how? The enemy was right before them atop Alnus Hill. They did not move anywhere.

"We must strike again in force!" . "No! We have to wait for the Imperial Army!". "They abandoned us here!". The two kings and other officers were arguing over the table with the map.

"Silence! We need to think now, not have a fight over the matter! I will be honest with you. I don't like the looks of things. In less than an hour we lost 10.000 soldiers and a commander. Send word to the Leaguan heir and inform him of the tragic events. We will attack again, in two waves. One right before nightfall and one at midnight. The first wave must get as close as possible and wait for backup. Simulate an attack and distract the enemy, keep losses at the minimum. This way they will think we've had it for the day and not expect us to make a move again during the night. 40.000 men will take part in this attack. The Alguan cavalry will leave immediately to hit the enemy from its side. Arenius! Your heavy cavalry is renowned through the continent. Head eastwards and fall down on them from the flank. Me and the rest will hit it in the front. Dismissed!" a frustrated Duran spoke in an authoritarian tone. That very moment, King Arenius took his leave. Outside, he spoke to his general. The two then went in different directions. Duran whispered to the Mudwany "If we do not make it back by morning, leave with the rest of the army. Bring them home. I fear the Empire lied to us about the reinforcements."

"My lord! How can you ask me something like that?"

"If this turns out to be a catastrophe or a trap then let us make sure we don't fall into it."

After contemplating a few seconds, an answer came: "I will do my best. Take care out there!"

* * *

 **Alnus Base, Intelligence Division**

The Japanese had a few UAVs in the air already. A small airfield was already prepared and they were working to extend it to allow aircraft to operate here along with AH-1 Cobra, Huey and Chinook helicopters. For now they were using it to deploy their UAVs.

"Contacts!" the operator of a UAV screamed. "A large formation of cavalry is moving towards east from the enemy camp."

General Hazama was in the room coordinating the defense of the base. "Hmm, a flanking maneuver. I hope God can forgive me one day, me and all of my subordinates. Colonel Dietrich, please inform your German and Canadian men to make ready. In 10 minutes they are departing to intercept the enemy cavalry. The Leopards will go ahead. The infantry will be 2km behind them in APCs and IFVs ready to provide support if the need shall rise."

Colonel Dietrich, the commanding officer of the joint German-Canadian detachment, is an experienced commander, hailing from a village in west Germany. He is a man in his late 40s with a sense of honor only similar to a Prussian officer. His father and grandfather served in the army before him. His grandfather used to be a tanker in the Wehrmacht, spent all the war on the Eastern Front fighting the Russian T-34s in a Panzer III until 1942 and in a Panther from 1943. He's a proud man but humble, honorable but not stubborn. He personally selected the German officers and soldiers for deployment in the Special Region. And he earned the respect of his Canadian subordinates in a short time.

He relayed the orders to the tankers. They immediately boarded the Leopard 2A6 tanks and formed up in a column to leave the base. The commander of one tank is Second Lieutenant Erwin Kalb. His gunner is Franz, the driver's name is Bauer and the loader's Fritz. Fritz and Franz are twin brothers, they are both blonde and have the same WW2 era haircut. Erwin was just like them, clean shaven and with the same haircut. But he had dark hair. Bauer was the wildcard – never the same style, always going with the flow.

* * *

 **Battle of Alnus**

Duran's attack was stopped dead in its tracks and the king himself suffered near mortal injuries when a 155mm HE shell detonated near him, blowing his left arm and leg clean off. He was rescued by two soldiers on the retreat. Half an hour ago, Duran watched in horror the dragon riders shot down from the sky by lights rising from the ground, the very same lights who cut down his soldiers. He would later be taken care of at a small monastery after the Allied Army retreated.

The cavalry suffered a similar fate. On their way to flank the hill, they met face to face the 20 Leopard tanks. Arenius was shocked when he saw beasts of steel charging his men. They spat fire and death, running his riders over and cutting them down with machinegun and cannon fire. After disrupting the charge and routing the cavalry unit, the tanks returned to base. The only damage they took were the few scratches left by spears and swords who splintered at the impact with the tanks at 90km/h _(NOTE: impact speed = speed of tank + speed of a horseman charging, Leo 2s can go at 60km/h and estimated the horsemen to 30km/h )_. The unit will later be known as the "Hussar Leopards".

AN: First thing I ever publish. Please leave reviews. I write because I find it relaxing and entertaining, to escape monotony. I'm also a history and military enthusiast.


	2. Ch 2 - Third Recon Team

**Chapter 2: Third Recon Team**

* * *

 **Alnus Base, briefing room**

D-Day + 25 days

It was a fairly big briefing room. Itami was present with four other officers of the JSDF. In front of them was a colonel.

"You have already been given command of 11-men platoons. Your mission is to make contact with the locals and learn about them, about their language and culture, economy and everything you can. I suggest you follow these routes as we have noticed several settlements along the roads. You must keep in touch with the base by reporting in every four hours. Our UAVs noticed nothing spectacular. The enemy army is retreating and they are already two days away from here, they split up. Our guess is that they retreat and regroup. Avoid contact with the enemy as best you can. If there are no questions you are free to go."

Itami sighed at the thought he has to get up and do his job. The chair was so confortable for his lazy legs. He slowly stood up and left the briefing room. In less than an hour he was ready to go. Third Recon Team a.k.a Recon Team Three (RCT3) was ready to depart on the main road with the other recon units. Every unit had a Leopard tank assigned to them as an escort. Erwin's tank happened to be Itami's support. He and his men, Franz, Fritz and Bauer were having a good laugh with RCT3 members and with, to Itami's surprise, Lt. Alistair. The latter noticed him and moved forward to greet him.

"Itami! There you are. You didn't think you were going out on your own, right?"

"What? What's with you?"

"Every recon team gets paired up with a tank and an international unit."

"I've heard about the tank from briefing. But nothing about you."

"General Hazama decided, along with NATO command, that every unit was to be assigned with an international squad. Here are my men. These two young fellas are Private Lewis, the boy, and Private Carter, the lady. This older one is an old comrade since Afghanistan deployment, Sergeant Jackson."

Carter was a young blonde woman, fresh out of training. She keeps her hair in a pony tail and is of average height. Lewis was 'fresh meat' too. Always shaves and keeps the same haircut as his CO (commanding officer) – very short. Jackson was the same age as Alistair, a man who has seen extensive combat and left with scars in his soul.

"Sir! Pleased to meet you, sir Itami! Hey!" were the greetings of the three. Itami waved at them and shook hands. "What's with the balaclavas?" he asked. All four them were wearing black balaclavas with a skull drawing for the face and tactical goggles for their eyes. "It is to intimidate any possible threats. I see your squad likes them."

Itami turned his head only to notice his subordinates playing around with the balaclavas. "Hey, be serious! You guys can't possibly mean to use them too…"

Kuribayashi and Kurata were in love with them while the others preferred to keep their faces visible. "Oy, make sure you don't scare off anyone friendly with those. Now, everyone aboard!"

The five recon teams left the base. Itami was in the lead Humvee, a light truck behind him, the LAV with the .50 Browning heavy machinegun followed by the British Humvee and Erwin's Leopard 2A6. Every tank in the unit was painted with a winged leopard on both sides after the battle to fit with their new name, the "Hussar Leopards".

Kurata, the driver of Itami's Humvee asked with joy in his voice: "Lt. Itami, what do you think we will meet in this world?".

"I don't know. I hope the least trouble would be nice."

"Man, I really wish I meet a fantasy girl! A beautiful elf. Or a kitty girl! We would meow forever! Hehehhe!"

"Oy Kurata, you might just get your wish fulfilled one day. With what we've seen so far…dragons, wyverns, ogres and trolls. There is a lot of potential and I'm excited about it. But I am very lazy too. Maybe with the least effort, we can get the best." Itami smiled as he spoke to the young man.

* * *

 **Coda Village, Special Region**

"Sir, I see the first village marked on our map. Right among those trees."

"Good spotting Kurata. Take us there."

"The landscape reminds me of southern England". Alistair stated in his radio comm.

"Not very different from Japan either. Ali, make sure you don't scare anyone with those dead faces on your masks. But your face ain't any better…ouh well." Itami was teasing the British lieutenant.

"Ouh cut it, you slimy ole' snail! We almost there."

They arrived at the gate. Itami's Humvee made a stop right in front. The column came to a halt as some disembarked the vehicles and headed into town. Itami and Kurokawa were the first to go past the small wooden wall as the others were at the cars. They noticed people tending their daily chores and kids playing in the center. The villagers noticed them quickly because of the tank's engine sound that notified them of their arrival.

"Who are these people? Are these two together? What's with the clothes, are they wearing a uniform?" were few of the questions the villagers were asking in their native language. Kurokawa waved at them and smiled. Itami came forward, he stopped near a woman washing some clothes.

"Hello. I Itami. I bring peace. I soldier, need information."

"Speak to the elder then." She spoke as she pointed him to the village center. There, sitting on a bench, was a man in his late fifties, following the strangers with a questioning eye. When he was approached he raised and took his hat off.

"Hello. Me Itami. She Kurokawa."

"Such a lovely couple. Welcome to Coda! What can we help you with?"

Their cheeks turned red for a few moments. "No no no! We are not married. We are friends. May we sit down and talk?"

"Of course! Have a seat on the bench. Who are you, people? I have never before seen such a uniform. I take it you are a soldier."

"Yes, we both are. Me and my friends outside."

"Hm? Your friends?"

As the two were speaking, children started to gather around Kurokawa and stare at her unusual facial features and hair color, a black and slight dark blue. She took out a Snickers baton from her pocket and handed it to a child. Shortly afterwards, the vehicles except the tank entered the village. When the people saw the huge beast parked right in front of the main gate they started to wonder what it was. Out of it, a hatch popped open and Erwin came out of his tank. Bauer had his head out of the driver's hatch, he was happy no cars were kicking dust and he could breathe the fresh air. Fritz and Franz were still in the tank. The villagers were curious what the steel behemoth was, it was painted in the regular Bundeswehr camouflage pattern, black, brown and green, with the iron cross (emblem of the Bundeswehr) and the winged leopard on both sides.

"I've never seen such carts before, able to move without horses. Where are you from?" asked the elder.

"We are from a very far away place called Earth."

"What are you doing so far away from home?"

"We are exploring. Explorer soldiers. Yes, we're explorer soldiers."

"You are merely a scouting party." The elder was afraid the army Itami was part of would sack the village if he was not useful to them. "What can a small village such as ours do for you?"

After 15 minutes of talking, RCT3 was making ready to leave, the vehicles making a small circle as they were turning to leave the village. Erwin who was playing with the kids on the tank enjoyed the short break.

"I see you're getting along with the kids, commander." said Bauer. "They are just kids, Bauer. I remember my days as one. No worry in the whole world. My only worry was how to avoid the mid-day nap. Oy, make ready, I see we leaving." Erwin waved the kids goodbye as the cars and LAV were slowly hitting the road. And so, the kids waved back at him as the Leopard came to life, roaring its engine and accelerating.

"Lt. Itami, my tank can go 200km more with you before needing to RTB (return to base). We were given the maximum fuel capacity."

"Don't worry about that, mister Kalb. We won't go that far away. Guys, everyone check your maps and location on it just to confirm we on the right path."

Lt Itami was pissed off at the thought they had no GPS here and he was always worrying they might get lost in the area. The journey to the nearby woods was entertaining and relaxing for them. The men and women of the unit told jokes and sang songs together. When they reached the tree line the convoy came to a halt.

Erwin did not like the looks of the forest. "Sir, I fear the woods are difficult terrain for tanks to traverse. We might be ambushed fairly easy."

"We still have to go through, Lt. Kalb. We can't afford to circumnavigate these large woods. It may take too much time", Alistair gave his opinion on the radio.

"I agree with both of you. But we can't hang on here too long. We've learned from Coda that there is a settlement in the heart of the woods. An elf one too. We have to make contact with them." replied Itami.

"Oooooo! An elf village? Commander, we must go now!". Kurata was looking forward to meet a fantasy girl.

"Calm now, Kurata. So..uhm, friends, I suggest we make camp for the night over that small hill, at the cover of the few trees. Good vantage point and plenty of space."

RCT3 agreed with Itami's suggestion and set up camp as the sun was setting down on them, leaving room for the night to set its dominance again over the land. The sky was clear, a few lost clouds making their way nowhere. The soldiers have set three tents around a campfire. The tank's sensors were keeping an eye out for any intruders. The spirits were high. Jackson was sharing war stories with Pops. The girls were stargazing together, talking about who knows what. Itami was enjoying his canned dinner when Alistair and Erwin joined him.

"Hey guys. How you doing?"

"Very well, sir Itami. Enjoying the nice evening." a tired Erwin replied.

"Oy, we're off duty in a way now. You have no obligation to address to me with 'sir'. You don't have to do it either way since we're all three lieutenants."

Alistair took a seat near his Japanese friend. "As you say Itami. What are you eating there?"

"Pork. Want some?"

"Nah, I'm good."

"Erwin?"

"Thank you, but I'm fine as well. Say gentlemen, what are we in for?"

Itami raised an eyebrow of confusion. "What do you mean, Erwin?"

"We slaughtered a lot of soldiers at Alnus. I have personally killed a bunch of those riders. Now…I've been assigned to a scouting unit. Is a bit odd for me, why would the brass assign a tank to a unit who is supposed to be small and quick on its feet?"

"We can only throw assumptions, mister Kalb. Maybe they want to impress, discourage. When we went on a patrol in Iraq and Afghanistan we had tanks with us because their sheer power and majestic stature had a demoralizing effect on any possible threat. While we're dealing with nations a thousand year behind us, this tactic may prove useful."

"You can call me Erwin, Lt Alistair. Ever since Ginza… what are we going to do after we learn about this place? A place so virgin, not harmed by industry. I like the idea of living here…far away from crowds and noise and pollution like in big cities. Just like those good childhood days."

"All I want is free time to enjoy my hobbies. Why do we have to work?"

"Itami, you can't derp around and have other people do your job or keep feeding you endlessly. Our society was built in such a manner that one must produce money for the rich in order to survive."

"I am not dreaming of a utopia, Ali… I want less stupid obligations. But I won't lie. I like this place more than I expected. If I had my novels with me that'd be great. If it wasn't for those bastards in Ginza, the sale would have gone smoothly… ouh well… I'm tired. Let's get some sleep. The following day will bring more dust in our faces from the road."

Itami put his can away in a trash bag and made his way into a tent to sleep. "Goodnight, everyone!". Alistair and Erwin returned to their men and had a good night's sleep. The night was uneventful. RCT3 woke up at sunrise.

* * *

 **Alnus Hill, cavalry battlefield**

D-Day + 26 days

Bozes, a knight of the Rose Order, Pina's knight group, was scouting with two more knights the surroundings of Alnus Hill. When the group of three came upon the rotting bodies of the dead horsemen they threw up. The smell of decay was like a needle in the nose and like poison to the stomach. The field was littered with dismembered bodies of what once were proud knights of the Alguani heavy cavalry. Holes in their armor allowed blood to flow out of them. But there was no blood left to flow out of the wounds. It was half dry. Pieces of broken chest plates, gloves, swords and lances were everywhere.

Bozes asked herself with a loud voice: "What happened here?"

Knight 1: "I do not know, milady."

Knight 2: "I can barely stand the smell…I'm gonna thr… " and he threw again.

"Who did this to these men?". She wanted to go in there and have a better look but the smell and the gore had her. The young knight decided to leave and report her grim findings to her princess and commander at the same time, Pina Co Lada.

* * *

AN: Second chapter, posted in quick succession first four chapters. Please review, I am new to publishing but I write sometimes.


	3. Ch 3 - Grim Discoveries

**Chapter 3: Grim Discoveries**

* * *

 **Special Region**

D-Day + 26 days morning to mid-day

RCT3 formed up to enter the woods. The three officers did not want to take any chances. Erwin's Leopard 2A6 was the lead vehicle of the column. It was followed by Itami's Humvee, the light Type 73 truck, British Humvee and the LAV at the rear. The convoy was going at 50km/h. The Leopard was furiously swinging its turret around, checking its flanks. Everyone was tense despite the fact the forest was quiet enough and nobody seemed to be creeping on them. It was one of these moments when a massive silhouette passed above them, fast as the birds and silent as the wind. The convoy came to a halt and everyone was checking the skies. Kuribayashi noticed a black smoke rising from between the trees somewhere to their right.

"Lt Itami, what was that?" Kurokawa asked.

"I have no idea. But I have a bad feeling about this. Erwin, please report the situation to base via radio. Get moving afterwards, we need to get through this forest asap."

"Copy that, Lt. But as far as I remember there is an elf village in these woods. And I bet all my money that this smoke is rising from there. Something bad has happened."

Itami felt so bad for forgetting about the elven village. How could he? He was angry on himself and Kurata noticed that. "Shit! Forward! Leopard, go as fast as you can, we need to reach that village now!"

"Don't let your guard down, guys."

"My tank's thermal sights indicates that the temperature's pretty high to our right. I believe the road takes us there, passing right through the village. Bauer, hit it! Maximum speed!"

RCT3 reached the source of the heavy smoke – burning trees and a dead soil, no grass left, black corpses, still smoking, with horrified expressions left on their faces by death. The smell of burned flesh was hanging in the air as if to remind any fool that here people died consumed by flames

"Aaaah! Just like dead terrorists in Afghanistan! Burnt flesh smells the same everywhere!" a more horrid humored Alistair spoke.

"Aye! That's the smell of one of the worst forms of death." Sgt. Jackson added. He noticed Carter and Lewis, the two soldiers, looking down to the ground to avoid eye contact with the terrible view. He walked right behind them and grabbed them by their helmet's belt and raised their heads. "Look! Look right there, you grass pissers! This is what you're in for! This is what you must be confortable with if you want to be a soldier. If you ever go to war this sight will be pretty common. So man up, lads! Or woman up, Carter! Aye, if you one day will be pregnant with a child you will see a lot of blood when you give him life."

"Knock it off, Jack! Don't drag them there."

"Sir, is better for them to face reality now and be ready for future events."

"Oy, leave them be! Ali, you and your men search for any survivors. Everyone start looking for any sign of life." Itami started ordering his subordinates around. "Erwin, keep an eye out for trouble. We'll use your tank if we need to drag large quantity of debris. Get moving! We don't have long 'till the smoke will hurt us. Use wet clothes to cover your mouth and nose."

Half an hour later, RCT3 saved Tuka Luna Marceau. Kurata heard her screaming for help from inside the well. Depression hit her when she saw what was left of her once proud village. Everything she saw before, when the dragon attacked them, flashed before her eyes. Tuka was screaming because of the horrific memories.

"Kurokawa, Kuribayashi, take care of her. Give her something to wear instead of her wet clothes."

Jackson and the others on the radio: "Nothing… no trace of life left." / "No survivors, sir. Just more crushed corpses beneath rubble."

"Ah! Dammit! DAMN THIS!" Itami was screaming in his mind, pissed off at the thought many people died. She got little information from Tuka. Alas it was time to depart. He raised his eyes a little to see everyone else gathering around him. "How is she?" he asked Kurokawa.

"Her condition is stable and fell asleep. I fear the language barrier is stronger with this one as she is an elf."

"Aye! She right. Sir, I suggest we get moving. We must warn the other settlements we met on our way here. We can't leave them unaware of the threat." Alistair gave voice to what his squad was thinking.

"Alright. Saddle up!"

And so RCT3 saved Tuka and learned about another threat to the realm – a dragon. They reported to base as soon as they left the forest.

* * *

 **Special Region, unknown monastery**

Princess Pina Co Lada was riding with her knights: Grey, Hamilton and Norma. They made a stop at a small monastery. She heard rumors about a high born noble recovering here after a battle. When the band of four reached its doors a wolf man greeted them. He was a mercenary by the looks of it and was bearing the sigil of Elbe Kingdom.

"Halt! Who are you people?" he asked the knights.

"Mind your manners, wolf! You're speaking to Pina Co Lada and her knights!" an offended Hamilton barked at him.

"Pina? So, you are the princess? Molt's daughter. You are not welcome here."

Hamilton slowly reached for her sword. "Go ahead little girl. Try your luck. Although you don't want to have blood all over your pretty white cloak." The wolf man cut her short. "I've heard of your Rose Order. Look at you. You're just kids playing soldiers. I, Inigo, unlike you, am a real soldier. The only real soldier from your band is that older man." Everyone was surprised for a moment. He read Grey like a book cover.

Grey was looking around and noticed four more men, humans, blending in the surroundings. He knew this was not worth a fight. Maybe something inside him was telling him that this wolf man Inigo was like him in some way. He came closer, half a meter from Inigo. He put his right fist to his chest and addressed him: "Name's Grey, former centurion in the Imperial Army. Now a knight of the Rose Order. I see a fire in your eyes, Inigo. You must have had your fair share of trouble in life."

"You have no idea, Grey. So, what brings you here?"

"We heard someone important was here, recovering from injuries. Judging by your sigil, I take it is Lord Duran."

"King Duran."

"Grey, how can you go so easy on them?" Hamilton jumped again.

"Girl, it is rude to interrupt like that two men talking to each other." Inigo gave her a threatening look. Hamilton put her left hand on her sword for a second time only to feel Pina's hand pulling her back. Pina spoke to Inigo: "You aren't the role model either in being polite. At the end, I'm a princess of the Empire. I only wish to speak to King Duran." Inigo lowered his eyebrows even further in doubt. "Fine. You will come and your knights will wait. And you will leave your weapons here, princess."

Pina complied to his terms. Inigo walked her in a bright room with large windows to let sunlight in. On a bed in the middle of the room she found the wounded king. She was shocked to see his left arm and leg were missing. Duran did not expect to see her either. He made a head sign to Inigo to leave them alone.

"What brings you here, princess Pina Co Lada?" Duran asked her.

"My lord! What happened to you?"

"Honor! Honor and duty! What happened to your damn army!?"

"Huh? What army?"

"The one your father sent as reinforcements…" Duran was harsh to the young princess as he spoke. He realized he was letting his anger and frustration get the best of him. "Forgive me for my tone, milady. Of course you know nothing. What could you know about something that doesn't exist?"

"What are you speaking about, my lord?"

"You have no idea, do you? First, tell me…what happened to the armies of the Empire? Why hasn't the Emperor said anything about their defeat prior to our arrival? Yes…I can see the confusion in your eyes."

"I've learned of the recent defeat. My father sent me to evaluate the situation. Me and my knights are riding for days and we're tired too. What happened at Alnus?"

"Death and treason happened. Treason committed by the Empire against her vassals. And death rained down on us as we fought to the end. You may not have partaken in your father's plans, princess, but I will not tell you anything about the battle. Go and see for yourself. See what the fields look like."

"I'm very sorry to hear about this… I will send a man to the capital. I want a doctor to look after you."

"Look after me by running a dagger through my heart? No, thank you. Your father doesn't know yet that I am alive. And if he does he will order my head. Molt is not stupid, but neither am I. Leave, princess. Before your rider will reach the capital I will have left this place."

"Tell me what you have seen at Alnus Hill, king Duran!"

Duran smiled at her. "Death. Go and see for yourself what I won't tell you. INIGO! Show the princess to the main door."

Inigo slowly opened the door. "Follow me, your Highness.". As they were walking the small corridor, Pina asked the wolf man: "Why are you so loyal to him? You are wearing a mercenary's armor but you seem very loyal to him. How much does he pay you?"

"You rich people measure everything in gold. Everything has value, princess. But not everything has a price. Here we are. Take your sword and daggers and leave this place. I am not my lord to hold back against you for too long, not what after you did. I'm short tempered when it comes to you Imperials. After Alnus especially!", Pina took her weapons and saddled up. Hamilton followed her and Norma too. Grey was the last one.

"Hey, Inigo! Take care! I wish one day we could spend some time together and talk." Grey was very friendly to Inigo, the one who showed hostility towards them.

"Grey, why are you so nice to him?"

"You see, Norma, when two veterans meet… A connection is formed between them. And this one must be a good soldier. I can see it in his eyes."

Inigo shouted back at him: "Maybe one day!"

Hamilton noted: "What a bastard! He may be a good soldier but he is not a great personality. Where to, lady Pina?"

"To the rendezvous point. If we're on schedule, we will get there before Bozes. It will take Panache and the rest of our knights a few more days to arrive from the capital. Grey, I won't forget that wolf's insolence. If I ever see him again act up like that I will punish him."

"What? Ah… While I am willing to die for you, princess Pina, I am not looking forward to fight him." Grey tried to protest.

"I will do it, Grey. I feel nothing for him. No resentment and no love." Norma said as if he was trying to show off.

* * *

 **Special Region, Coda village**

D-Day + 26 days, evening

RCT3 returned to Coda village in a hurry. The lighter vehicles left Erwin's tank behind to save time. The whole village was surprised to see them back just after a day. The elder came outside to greet Itami and his men.

"Welcome back, soldiers. What can I help you with?"

"Hello! Uh, I know this may seem rather weird but can you help us? We have an elf with us. Her village was destroyed by a big red dragon. Everything burned and dead. Can you take care of her?"

"A dragon!? What was it like?"

"Big, red, he threw fire out of his mouth. Three times at least the size of a big tree."

"Where is this elven girl?". Itami showed the elder to the Humvee where Tuka was sleeping. "Poor girl… I am sorry. We can't take care of her as she is now. We must leave our village behind and seek a safe place to live."

"Why is that?"

"You are describing a fire dragon. Once a fire dragon consumes human or elven flesh it will not eat anything else but humans and elves and who knows what other races. I will tell my people to make ready. It would be best to leave the following morning."

"Are you sure, old man? Is there no other way?" Itami asked the elder. The latter shook his head in a 'no' sign. Itami sighed before saying "It must be hard to take such a decision. Me and my friends will help you. Recon Team Three, we will make camp in Coda for the evening. We will help them with evacuation. They've become refugees with that dragon loose and wrecking havoc around."

"Are you really going to help us?"

"Yes, why wouldn't we? Do you have any clear place inside the walls for us to make camp?". And so, RCT3 spent the night in Coda village, spreading word to every house about the impeding danger.

* * *

 **Special Region, unknown monastery**

Duran spoke first , breaking the silence: "Inigo, what should we do?"

"Those imperial scoundrels won't leave us alone. Your Highness, you must seek shelter somewhere. I suggest we leave within the next two days."

"Pina is not her father, Inigo."

"But she is of his blood. 'Like father like daughter' goes the saying."

"You are wise not to trust them. But don't let it turn you into a paranoia freak."

"The absence of confidence in strangers is what can laughably be passed as decency and order in this world. That is why we lock our doors at night, right?"

"You do make a point. Alright. We leave in two days. Make preparations."

"As you command, my king!"

* * *

 **Special Region, Rose Order of Knights camp**

Pina, Norma, Hamilton and Grey made a small camp at the cover of a large rock and a bunch of trees and bushes to hide them from unwary eyes.

"Princess! Bozes' group is here. They are coming this way." Norma was on watch duty and reported to Pina.

"Ah, about time. Signal her we are here." she responded.

Norma picked a torch, came forth from the bushes and trees and waved it above his head for a few times to make sure Bozes noticed him. They entered the camp.

"Tend to the horses, men. Then join us for dinner." Bozes commanded her two knights.

"Miss Bozes, you are not going to be loved by your men if you want to command one day." Grey commented on her attitude only to find two eyes throw him a poisonous look.

"Sit down, Bozes. What did you find?"

Bozes avoided eye contact with her commander princess while she spoke. "I don't know what I've uncovered milady. I thought that I was ready for war but what I saw made me realize I am not. I found what was left of the heavy cavalry of Alguna."

Grey smiled. "There is no shame in admitting the truth, lady Bozes. Nobody is ready for war. You just grow accustomed to it. Tell us what you have seen."

"The ground was riddled with holes and in those holes were dead cavalrymen. Their bodies torn apart as if a blood thirsty monster was drunk with rage on them. Limbs thrown everywhere. Horse heads, horses and men with holes torn in their chest, holes both small like my pinky finger and bigger than my fist. It was a terrible sight. I wanted to leave but I knew we must look through it. We brought back the torso armor of a dead rider and something we still have to figure out what it is. I've had my subordinates wash this but it still smells."

Bozes reached her hand into a cloth bag brought out a piece of chest plate. It was riddled with holes and dried up blood traces. Hamilton's eyes grew wide when she noticed the 7.62mm holes created by the Leopard's MG3A1 machineguns. Pina poked her finger through one of them as if she could not believe her eyes. Grey was just as surprised as the girls. He thought to himself "What could do that? Only high velocity armor piercing bodkin bolts had a chance of going through this thick armor."

"We also uncovered this…"

"What is it?"

A piece of metal painted in the German tank camouflage pattern came out of the bag. It had on one side the emblem of the Bundeswehr – the Iron Cross.

"This must be a symbol, a sigil."

* * *

AN: Third chapter, posted in quick succession first four chapters. Please review, I am new to publishing but I write sometimes.


	4. Ch 4 - Of Monsters and Men

**Chapter 4: Of Monsters and Men**

* * *

 **Special Region, Coda village**

D-Day + 27 days, morning

A large convoy of carts formed up inside and going outside the village walls. Everyone was here, including Lelei and Cato the sage mages of Lindon School.

Out of the convoy came Itami with Erwin and Alistair. They were concerned about the safety of the refugees.

"Do you guys have any suggestions? We have to defend these people but we have few men and vehicles. Erwin, Ali?"

"Lt Itami, my tank can lead the vanguard and discourage any possible threats from engaging the convoy in combat. Or I could patrol along the length of the convoy. Go ahead and stop 'till you guys catch up and move forward again to save fuel."

"How much bloody fuel do you want to save? Why not slow down or reverse?"

"We are talking about refugees here. We don't know for how long we will be escorting them. Refugees tend to run far away from trouble. I need every bit of fuel I can spare. OK, is a fair point that we can have a Huey deliver us extra fuel and supplies but we need to be ready for anything. We don't know if something bad might happen back on Alnus and don't have the possibility to send us help."

"I agree with Erwin. Let's go with your idea. The Leopard will go ahead and halt until we catch up but will intervene immediately if things go bad. Alistair, you take the lead. LAV takes the rear guard and the truck will be moving on the side of the column with my Humvee ready to intervene anywhere. Come on Al! If there is trouble you will be the first one to enjoy the show."

"Aye! Let's form up."

Lelei and Cato were wondering who these people in green camouflage were.

"Lelei, was the kid from yesterday evening speaking about them?" Cato asked.

"Yes. They saw the dragon and saved an elf. They are strange people, master."

"They might all be mercenaries and expect payment. Payment we might not have at the end of the trip."

"No. They are from an army. I can't understand their language. But they understand ours."

Suddenly, outside of the gate, the tank revealed itself. Its engine's roar made everyone nervous.

"What is that!?"

"I don't know master. I will go take a look."

So, Lelei dismounted her cart and rushed forward to the main gate to observe the steel beast. "Steel forged by a master blacksmith. And coloured.". She felt the earth trembling beneath her as she came a few centimeters from the tank. "Huh? A leopard with wings?"

"Young girl, take a few steps back!" Erwin shouted at her to make sure his voice was louder than the engine. "You might get hurt."

"You speak my language?"

"Hardly. I'm Erwin. You?"

"Lelei La Lelena."

"Go back to your friends Lelei."

As her name left his mouth, the tank started moving forward. She immediately took a few steps back and watched the majestic beast disappear in a dust cloud. Every cart was slowly moving so she returned to Cato.

"Master, I want to learn more about them." she spoke as her master helped her get up again.

* * *

 **Imperial Capital, Senate**

D-Day + 27 days, midday

The Senate building was crowded with the senators of the Empire debating the future of the army. At one point everybody was arguing. The emperor had to rise and silence the crowd before someone would come forth and talk.

"It is a disaster! Our army destroyed. We've lost a third of our forces! Our soldier didn't even see the enemy before falling victims to their magic."

"Mobilize our other armies!"

"The provinces will fall into lawlessness if we do that! We can't afford it!"

"We must wear the enemy down! Scorched earth strategy!"

"Kill them all! Retake Alnus!"

"We will conscript more and more soldiers! We have the manpower."

"Yes! Fight!"

"Stop this madness!" a furious Imperial general stepped in. "Alnus is lost! Have you been there, senators? Have you seen what I've seen? No! You have not!"

"How dare you speak like that in the Senate!? What right do you have to be here?"

"I have the right given by me and my men who died defending this damn place while you rats cause all the trouble we solve for you!"

"Take him out of here! Arrest this man!"

"You will all die if you do not start thinking for once straight! Right now we have to reform the army and change all our tactics of warfare!"

Several guards arrested the general. He was thrown in jail for his outburst in the Senate building. This man was general Titus of the Imperial Army, a man in his 40s whose brilliant military mind allowed him to rise in ranks so fast so early in his life. Possibly the only person who could have brought them at least a draw against the JSDF.

"That was the last time I try to help these bastards and their wealth. Let the people have them."

* * *

 **Special Region, 10km ahead of the refugee convoy**

A unit of 10 men on horseback were slowly making their way south on the road. They wear light leather armor reinforced with thin steel plates and heavy steel armor. The leading rider was the leader, easily distinguishable by his ornate helmet and ornate sword hilt. On his left was the bearer of the Imperial flag and behind him the other 8, riding in two columns of four behind the first two. All proud and full of energy.

They happened to come upon a small cart. They were from Coda village, a family of three: husband, wife and their 15 year old daughter. When the soldiers noticed that there was nobody around they proceeded to rob the poor people who left ahead of their fellow villagers.

"No! This is our property! Leave us alone!" the husband protested.

"Get out of our way, man! Or we will kill you."

The scared husband and father reached for a knife. But before he put his hand on it, the officer's sword went through his heart, killing him on the spot. The wife and daughter screamed horrified. The cutthroat soldiers proceeded to throw their cart on a side and rape the two in shifts. Two were having their way with the woman and teen daughter while the other 8 were eating their food and sharing their loot.

15 minutes later, the convoy almost caught up with them.

"Lt. Itami! We have a dozen contacts 2km ahead by the side of the road! Awaiting instructions." Erwin reported on radio.

"Requesting permission to go ahead with my men and investigate."

"Permission granted, Al! Everyone, be on the lookout."

"Thank you, Itami.", and so Alistair's Humvee accelerated and left the convoy behind. All four British soldiers had balaclavas and readied their weapons. "Jack, Carter, Lewis, be on the lookout."

As they approached the scene, they quickly noticed what was going on and reported on radio. In a minute or two, the convoy would be here.

"Sir, they are raping them! I'm getting out!" and an outraged Pvt. Carter jumped out of her car followed immediately by Lt. Alistair, Sgt. Jackson and Pvt. Lewis. "Leave them alone, you bastards!" she screamed in a powerful British accent.

Everyone was pointing their M4 carbines at the Imperial soldiers. The band of 10 were wondering who these four people were. The officer gathered himself and approached Alistair. They were a meter from each other. He could only see the skull drawn on his face cover and his reflection in Alistair's tactical goggles.

"Who are you, bastards?" he demanded.

Without a moment's hesitation, the Lt. used his M4's shoulder stock to punch him in the chin and put him down. Two of his men immediately reached for their swords only to be gunned down by an outraged Carter. Then, she shot dead the other two soldiers who were raping the females only 10 seconds ago.

"Lewis! Bring something from the car for these girls to wear!"

"Who do you think you are, you bandits!? We are soldiers of the Imp-" the officer angrily tried to protest. Alistair stumped him on his face and put a bullet in both the officer's hand: "Shut up, maggot!"

The other five soldiers were frozen. The British rounded them up. Jackson was guarding them. He ordered them to stay in a line on the right side of the road. The mother and daughter were saved. As the refugee convoy caught up and was continuing its exodus, the villagers saw the scenes unfolding before them. The village elder especially.

"I beg you, I had no part in this! I was drifted into the army!" the youngest of them was begging for mercy.

"I will have your head, coward! When we get bac-..!". His commanding officer was cut short by a bullet in the face. His head was thrown back by the force of the .45 ACP round fired by Alistair's M1911 sidearm, his body followed the head onto the ground.

Itami noticed what he did and immediately jumped out of his vehicle. He grabbed Alistair by his tactical vest. "What are you doing? These are prisoners!"

"They raped a woman and her daughter! The girl is a teenager! I bet she ain't 17! I will not sit idly by and let rapists and murderers live all good and well because of our overly super shiny moral code of prisoners!"

"They are prisoners of war!"

"Sgt. Jackson, please take the young lad from the line and handcuff him." Alistair ordered his friend before pointing the gun again at another imperial soldier and executing him too.

"Wh… I will have you sent to Court Marshal, Al!"

"By all means, do it. You haven't seen the bloody shit I've seen and been through. War is chaos. And in chaos the parasites flourish. And this bunch of assholes raped two civilians and murdered another AND stole their belongings! So shut up with your moral code. I will applaud you if yours isn't a bad joke either when times get rough."

Itami realized he had a point. People are all helpful and moral until things go very bad. He knew this. He knew that behind ethics and morals lies greed and selfishness.

"These Imperial scoundrels are fucking rapists and murderers. They killed hundreds in Ginza and raped what they could. You seen it with your own eyes. You were there. Female shopkeepers raped and murdered on the counter. Babies cut in half before their mothers. We need to send a message, Itami. And if you refuse, I will do it."

"Spare everyone who is innocent. Tell your men to strip them of weapons and send them away. I hope you are right, Al. We just used morality to clean our boots if you get what I mean."

The remaining Imperials were spared and sent away. "Tell everyone you see what you have seen today. Every soldier I lay my fingers on will have his brains smashed if he rapes and murders!"

Lelei, Cato and the village chief witnessed the scene.

"This man is very furious with his foes and those who do wrong." Cato noticed.

"Yes. What is that thing he just used that instantly killed the soldiers?" a curious Lelei asked. Her curiosity was winning over the repulsive gut instincts an average person experiences when watching scenes such as these unfolding.

The survivors ran as fast as their feet could bare. When they thought they were safe they paused for a break. Just then, all of them but the youngest one were suddenly cut in half by a huge halberd. The boy raised his eyes and saw Rory Mercury, apostle of Emroy, god of war. "Go on now, soldier. I watched the whole matter. I know you are not guilty and my god just doesn't want your life yet. Go now before I change my mind."

Itami noticed a girl headed their way. He could not believe his eyes. Neither could Kurata. "Oooo! Loli goth girl, Itami-san!". Rory came close to the British Humvee, looked inside and smiled to Alistair. Then kept walking only to be surrounded by children. The kids explained the situation to her and she found Itami's vehicle more and more intriguing, up to the point where she climbs in and joins them.

* * *

 **Special Region, three hours later**

"The landscape's changing. We're entering a rocky and arid area." Itami noted.

"Huh… Where am I?". Everyone turned its eyes to the source of this calm sweet voice – Tuka. Kurokawa came near her, "Ah, you are awake. How are you feeling?"

"I am …ah! I think I am well. Where am I?"

"You are safe, my dear. Rest now. Here, have something to eat and drink. You were asleep for a day already."

"What is that?"

"We call them rations and snacks. This one is a Snickers baton. Is sweet and good, you will love it."

"How many batons of that thing do you have, Kurokawa?" asked Kurata.

"That was the last one I've had with me."

Tuka slowly ate the sweet chocolate and nuga baton. Slowly, uneasiness was taking over her body and mind.

"Something bad will happen!"

"Why do you say that?"

"Is the same feeling I've had yesterday morning."

From behind a rock formation, a huge red dragon revealed itself to the shock and horror of the villagers. Panic immediately spread throughout the convoy. Itami, curious of what was the cause for all the ruckus, had a look outside. His face froze. "What… Holy damn crap! DRAGON! DRAGOON!"

"We just noticed it too, man! Bloody hell, that thing's bigger than I thought!"

"Erwin, where the hell are you? Hussar-Three, come in!" Itami furiously tried to reach the tankers on the radio. "Shit!"

The beast descended upon the carts. They were like worms compared to the mighty reptile who burned them down in one pass.

"Crap, he's going for the people! All units, engage! Open fire and maneuver to avoid the breath!"

"Already hot on its tail, man!"

"Where is our tank!?"

"He's at the rear of the convoy!"

"Caliber, open up!". The 12,7mm machinegun (.50 cal) mounted on the LAV opened fire but its rounds were bouncing off its tough scales. "No effect on target!". "Keep shooting the damn thing!"

"Grenade out!". The Brits were using their M4's grenade launchers to distract the beast.

"We are on our way, RCT3 actual. We already have the dragon in sight. Opening fire. Loader, high explosive! Fire!", Erwin ordered his crew. "Ordnance away!", Franz replied. As the Leopard was picking up speed with the engine roaring like a mighty leopard, the gun came to life as it just sent away a 120mm HE round. The HE was very effective against buildings and people, but against a dragon that size it was only good enough to give him minor burns on the scales.

"No significant effect on target!" Franz reported.

"Fritz, load APFSDS (armor piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot). Give that schweinhund lead!"

"Gun loaded!"

"Fire!". The 120mm smoothbore roared again, sending its heavy metal dart of death at speeds higher than 1.500m/s. The APFSDS was designed to pierce a modern main battle tank's frontal armor – equivalent of almost one meter thickness of steel armor. When it hit the dragon's back it went right through its scales, cut through its flesh a hole of 3cm in diameter and came right through its chest but it lost all its kinetic energy and fell to the ground harmless for anyone else. It screamed in pain and breath fire everywhere in the air. The roar frightened literally everyone.

Cato and Lelei watched the battle unfold while driving their cart to a safe distance. They both were surprised when the Leopard penetrated the dragon's scales.

"This is the first time I see a real Fire Dragon! And it was hurt too. What is this powerful magic they use?"

"I don't know, master. I doubt it is magic."

Erwin's tank came close to 300 meters from the beast and started unloading death and flames on him. The dragon was pissed off big time on the green Humvee shooting small caliber grenades in his leg. Without a warning, it unleashed its fire on it. Itami noticed it, but his warning was too late.

"Al, watch out!"

Too late. The Humvee was engulfed in high temperature fires. The tires blew from the heat and Lewis' right hand caught fire from wrist to shoulder.

"Take the damn clothes off!" Carter shouted at him and pulled out a knife to cut its clothes before the fire would spread on his body.

"Engine's failing, dammit! We need help here!" Jackson reported on radio.

"HOOOOT! Put it off! Put it off!"

"Stop screaming like that, lad!"

"Lewis, stop moving your fucking hand! Oh shit!"

From the wreckage of a cart, a woman trapped beneath it, witnessed the scene as the Humvee was engulfed in flames. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see the soldiers burn to their death. Her husband and son were trying to rescue her from beneath the crashed cart but to no avail.

"Guys, we need help here! Sir, the engine's on fire!" Jackson reported.

"Bloody hell! Abandon the car! Get out now!"

All four soldiers left the Humvee and were running as far and as fast they could. The dragon prepared another flame for the exposed four only to be interrupted by a another hit from the Leopard 2. This time, the sabot went right through its right arm. At the same time the burning car's engine and fuel tank exploded, sending hot shrapnels flying around. One piece hit Carter in the back left side and went through her body, stopping in her bullet-proof tactical vest's front side. The impact threw her down bleeding.

"Use that God damn AT (antitank) weapon you got, you bastards!"

"Katsumoto! Panzerfaust!"

"Roger!"

From the LAV's gunner position, Katsumoto brought out a 110mm Panzerfaust 3 AT weapon. "Hold it! I'm aiming." / "I'd love to save my butt the unwelcomed massage it gets, Katsumoto!" the driver answered back to him. Then he fired the weapon, the warhead ascended towards the dragon with a smoke trail behind.

"Damn it, Katsumoto! You flinched it! It's a miss!" a frustrated Itami wanted to scold his subordinate. Just then a huge halberd landed near the beast making it lose its balance and come into the warhead's way. When it hit its left arm, the warhead detonated and the liquid jet designed to penetrate tank armor went right through its arm and tore it clean off.

In a scream of pain having its arm ripped off, the dragon took off and left the scene. Its luck was that the high temperature of the warhead's detonation cauterized the wound it caused. The Leopard's gun howled one last time as it sent another HE shell flying at the dragon.

"You can stop running now, guys."

The three thought they'd never stop running. When Alistair turned around and saw Pvt. Carter wounded and bleeding he rushed at her. He applied pressure where the shrapnel went in. "Medic! Carter! Carter, you hear me, girl?"

"I… I do. It hurts, sir."

"I know but you have to hold on. Kurokawa will be here. If it hurts then you are alive."

Kurata brought the Humvee near the wounded. Kurokawa immediately jumped out to treat the wounded.

"Ok, now bite to this piece of clothing. I will pull the piece of metal out of your chest and treat your wound. Lt., help me get her vest off. Slowly…slowly not to move the metal or it may damage something inside. Good. Bite to it, Pvt.!"

Kurokawa slowly put her hands around the metal that's sticking out from her body and pulled it out with force. Carter screamed in pain with her mouth closed, fists clenched. The combat medic then proceeded to disinfect the wound and apply bandages. "You will be alright, private! Don't you dare give on me from now on." Were Alistair's encouragements.

"She will be ok, lieutenant." Kurokawa said while rubbing her bloody hands on her camouflage pants.

Erwin was a step ahead. "Lt. Itami, Lt. Alistair, I've called a MEDEVAC Huey helicopter. They will track our radio signal."

"Thank you, Erwin. How's your crew?" Itami asked.

"We are alright. Thank you for asking."

The villagers could not believe their eyes. Those strange people just wounded an ancient flame dragon and saved the villagers. Some of them died, but many were saved. After the dust settled, Itami was approached by the village elder: "Thank you, noble people, for saving us. How may we repay you?"

"You don't have to repay us. You need everything you can get your hands on."

"You are very kind. At first I thought our village was going to be raided but you showed you care about the common folk more than any leader we met before."

"I care about everyone who deserves to be cared after, old man. What will happen with those who lost relatives in this fight? I mean, where will the orphans go?"

"I'm afraid we can barely take care of ourselves. We will go to our friends and relatives in other towns and villages. They have no one left…"

"I see… Eh… ok old man, we will take care of them. Let us bury the dead and then we will accompany you."

"There is no need for it anymore. We are almost there. In half a day's travel we will reach a town and we will be safe. Thank you very much. Songs will be written about your bravery and feats today."

The rest of the day was uneventful. The soldiers and villagers tended to their own and buried the dead. As evening fell upon the realm, the last carts were leaving line of sight and the last villagers were waving goodbye to their saviors and RCT3 was waving goodbye to the people.

Not long after night fell, the sound of a helicopter's rotors could be distinguished in the distance. Several tents were set up for those who chose to stay with the JSDF. Erwin used his tank and the LAV to signal their location to the pilot. The Huey with the big red cross landed in the space lit up using the LAV's and tank's headlights. Alistair carried Carter to the helicopter. She was followed by Lewis who was ordered back to base to treat the burn on his hand.

"Take care of them! Carter, make sure you will be better next time we meet."

* * *

AN: Fourth chapter, posted in quick succession first four chapters. Please review, I am new to publishing but I write sometimes.


	5. Ch 5 - Journey Back to Alnus

**Chapter 5: Journey Back to Alnus**

* * *

 **Special Region, on the road to Alnus Hill**

D-Day + 28 days

The sun was shining upon the hills and the road; the breeze created by the wind blowing west relieved the sensation of intense heat. It was a pleasant ride towards Alnus. The leading vehicle of the small convoy was Itami's Humvee filled with refugees and some of their belongings. It was followed by the light truck with the same loadout. The LAV had the most available space for storage. The last one was Hussar-Three, the Leopard 2A6 tank. Erwin, Fritz and Franz were sticking out of the turret hatches with Alistair and Jackson riding along with them on the tank.

Erwin broke the monotony of the engines: "Lt., why did you execute the Imperial soldiers?"

"What do you do with vermin?" Alistair answered with another question.

"They were still living people with families."

"And so are the rats, the fleas, the cockroaches – living beings yet we still kill them with no remorse."

"Humans are sentient beings."

"So are elephants and other animals. Is just us who think ourselves special, Erwin. We are not. Bastards had it coming. From what I hear, that strange girl killed the ones we allowed to leave except the youngest of them."

"Why are you avoiding the question, Lt.?"

"I see you don't get it, Erwin. These people committed a serious crime against their own people. Murder, robbery and rape. If you see fit to look after those who do such lewd things then be my guest. Let us not forget that they are our enemy. We're at war. I've been to Afghanistan and Iraq. I know what we must do with people like them. The difference is back home, they use their title of jihadists to do all this and even worse. No difference. Why should we kill the jihadists but spare them?"

"I think you agree with us on taking out that damn officer at least. Frakin' bastard!" Jackson added.

Erwin was staring into the distance as he spoke slowly: "What are we..? Are we still humans after everything we do?"

"No. We're monsters who build and protect towns. They are those who smash them." These words brought silence. Everyone was contemplating at what they just heard.

"Itamiii, why don't you admit you agree with him?" Rory asked Itami.

"Oy, don't stare into my eyes like that. What do you want me to admit, Rory?"

"Deep in yourself, in your soul, you are cheering him for killing the soldiers. Everyone here does so. Maybe except for your doctor girl."

Kurokawa: "Miss Rory, we are not savages."

"Kurokawa-chan, you are too idealist, my dear. You won't find anything but solitude in your existence with that much idealism. Solitude and madness."

"Hmph! What do you know, Rory?"

"I've been here for too long. I've seen it all. After all, I'm living for almost a thousand years."

Everyone's jaw dropped when they heard her.

"Say... what? How old are you, Rory?" Kurata awkwardly asked.

"961 years old."

"You don't look a bit over 14."

"Ouh, you're so nice Itami! Hihihi!"

Kuwahara, a.k.a. Pops, noticed something up ahead. "We have contacts up ahead! Looks like a cart and a few people on horseback. Can't tell if they are enemy soldiers. They are going the same way we are. What should we do, Lt.?"

"Hmm. I don't want to go ahead but I don't like the idea of an ambush prepared for us. Erwin, care to investigate for us?"

"Yes, sir Itami!" the tank commander replied in his radio. "Fritz, Franz, get inside and man the turret. Stay sharp! Bauer, hit it!"

The Leopard picked up speed reaching immediately 70km/h and going ahead to intercept. "Lt. Alistair, I will not tolerate any other execution of prisoners from now on." Itami warned his British buddy. "Ye' bloody morality pedestal will get you in trouble one day. But fine!"

* * *

 **Up ahead**

Inigo was the lead horseman, two of his men were on horseback too, one on each side of the cart. The cart was pulled by two healthy horses. One was steering it and another one was inside with a bow, arrows, sword and shield, ready to protect Duran who was lying flat on his back in the covered cart.

"What is that sound?" the king asked. It was a screeching sound accompanied by metal clinging sounds. It grew more and more in intensity. "Behind us!". Inigo turned his eyes to the rear and noticed the tank approaching with three men riding atop it. "What on earth is that!?" he asked himself. "Don't draw your weapons!" he ordered his men. The purple-blue fur colored wolf man managed to hide the Elbe sigil he's bearing under a cloth. He raised a hand to signal a halt to the cart he was protecting.

Erwin's tank finally caught up with them. Alistair and Jackson are wearing their skull balaclavas and their tactical goggles, able to hide their faces. Hussar Three came to a halt two meters to their left. Alistair's and Jackson's face covers made everyone nervous. The German greeted them in the local language but it was very rudimentary.

"Hello! We peace."

Inigo treated them with skepticism: "You say you're 'peace' yet you are riding with the dead."

"We are not dead. We're just as alive as you are." Jackson replied.

"Show your faces then!" Inigo commanded. "Please comply, Alistair. We don't need a fight."

The two sighed and looked at each other for a moment before pulling up their goggles and the face cover in order to reveal two living men. "See? We are alive and well. Who are you? I see you're wearing armor and bear swords. You are no commoners. Where are you going?"

"We are taking this wounded farmer to someone who can heal him.". Alistair jumped down from the tank, walked behind the cart and had a look inside. A man with two missing limbs was waiting for them. "How did this happen to you, old man?"

"I had a very unfortunate accident." Duran replied.

"Why would five soldiers take care of a farmer?" Al asked.

"Do we need a reason to be good people? Besides, this man raised me as his own son. I will do everything I can to help him." Inigo answered him. He could not help himself but notice the national flags on their uniform's left arm. They matched those described by the scouts from Alnus. They might very well be the enemy they fought days earlier.

"We can help your old man. We have highly skilled doctors. He can recover very fast if you want to bring him with us to Alnus Hill."

Everyone flinched when they heard their destination. No doubt! They are part of the army they faced and lost to. Al, Jackson and Erwin noticed their reactions and immediately knew they were not being told something about these soldiers and farmer. "Inigo, come here.", Duran called to his bodyguard. He dismounted and approached his king. "Yes?"

Duran whispered: "We should go with them?"

"Might be a good idea to stay safe from Molt's assassins. But we must not allow them to know who we are. Who you are. And if they really are kind…then…they'll heal you."

"And we can return home. Let us go with them."

By the time the two decided on what to do, the convoy caught up with them. Itami listened to everything on his radio and watched them through binoculars. He came forth and introduced themselves: "Hello. I'm First Lieutenant Youji Itami. These are my men and some refugees from Coda village. I suggest you come with us. As my friend said, our doctors can treat him."

The group decided to accept their offer and joined the convoy. Inigo's men were wondering how their green carts and steel monster could move without horses.

"How do these things move?" the curious asked, pointing to the tank.

"This is a tank. The Leopard 2A6. It is a war machine and it moves thanks to the engine." Erwin replied. "Every other vehicle works on the same principle."

"What does a tank do?"

"A tank is an apostle of death and destruction. Don't get on its bad side. You never told us your names."

"Inigo, these are my men…" he proceeded to introduce his brothers-in-arms.

* * *

 **Special Region, Rose Order of Knights camp**

The sun was high up on the sky when the seven knights had their first meal of the day. Pina, Bozes, Hamilton, Grey, Norma and the other two are sitting around last night's campfire discussing their next move while sharpening their swords and cleaning the armor.

Pina: "Bozes. I want you to stay here with your two knights and wait for Panache. We'll leave for Italica the following morning. If she doesn't make it here today with the rest of our knights you must wait for her."

Grey: "Miss Bozes, make sure your men and horses are rested and fed. We might need them soon enough."

Pina: "You will follow us to Italica when you see it fit but don't delay it too much. Let everyone rest for at least a day."

Bozes: "What then?"

Pina: "Our mission is to scout Alnus. I wanted you to scout ahead. It is obvious that we need to learn a lot, we know nothing of the enemy soldiers there. We will slowly make our way to Italica and then southwards."

Bozes: "Will take us a while to get to Alnus, milady. It took us two days of riding with no sleep and small breaks for the horses to be able to make it here so fast."

Pina: "Italica will be our meeting point and from there we march together."

* * *

 **Alnus Hill Base**

D-Day + 28 days evening

RCT3 returned to base. The column came to a halt near the HQ with the refugees disembarking and with a medical team taking Duran to the sickbay. Itami was to report to his superior.

Major: "You… Who told you it's ok to bring them here?"

Itami: "What, is it that bad?"

Major: "Ahhhh, this will be a mess."

Itami: "They are all refugees, they had nothing and no one left."

Major: "Itami, you will take care of them. You will oversee that every need they have is fulfilled. I give you access to our supplies. Put up a few tents for your friends while I send forward the report to Hazama."

Itami: "Thank you, sir!"

* * *

 **Evening**

The refugees had their tents set up by Itami's men. Every girl and woman went to take a bath while the men were slowly unpacking. Later they had dinner and a good night's rest. Inigo's and Duran's cover was still going well. The wolf man was given permission to stay in Alnus until his king was good to go.

* * *

 **AN:** Fifth chapter is here.

 **bronzy757:** Here is the fifth part and I'll upload the sixth one too. Thank you!

 **Kilo 6:** Thank you for your review. I intend on showing more as it goes on, reasons and background. I neglected the start because it happens just like in the anime. Then friends come to help. Thank you, I noted your review :D


	6. Ch 6 - War and Peace

**Chapter 6: War and Peace**

* * *

 **Alnus Hill Base**

D-Day + 30 days

Outside of the houses built by JSDF for the refugees, the girls were discussing about their future.

Tuka: "They have been very nice for us. We have clothing, good food, water and houses."

Lelei: "And they saved us from the dragon…"

Rory: "Don't you ask yourselves why they are so nice?"

Lelei: "I believe they might expect payment one day."

Tuka: "But we have nothing. We are living off their good treatment. Maybe we will have to whore ourselves to the soldiers…"

Rory: "They don't seem to like that idea, Tuka."

Cato: "We need to provide for ourselves and we need to do it soon. Maybe they have some work for us to do."

Lelei: "I noticed many dead wyverns and small dragon breeds on the fields close to the base. If we sell the scales we might earn enough money and live independent."

Cato: "But is the JSDF willing to take those scales? After all, they are pretty expensive."

Lelei: "I've already asked Itami about that. We can actually take as much as we please. They have no use for them. For the JSDF, they are just rotting corpses with no importance."

Cato: "If that is so, then let us spread the word among our people and get to work as soon as we can."

* * *

 **Special Region,** _ **The Drunken Dragon Inn**_ **, town of Bravil**

D-Day + 30 days, evening

The town of Bravil is a small town at the base of the Duma Mountains. The town grew around the castle built to originally defend the mountain pass and the Appia highway who lead to the capital in the east and to Italica to the west. Castle Bravil firmly dominates the surroundings with its high walls and imposing architecture.

The castle was manned accordingly but few guards were taking care of the town. Many soldiers who used to be on guard duty here were sent to fight at Alnus.

At the outskirts of the town was a famous inn and tavern – The Drunken Dragon Inn. It lay close to the main road and attracted many travelers because of it. Inside, at a table, were Pina, Hamilton, Grey and Norma eating and drinking at a table. The tavern was busy, mostly townsfolk after a hard day's work were having a drink and enjoying the good time. The latest rumors were those of a group of people fending off a fire dragon and saving a big part of Coda villagers.

Hamilton: "These rumors are spreading like wildfire."

Norma: "Do you actually believe that mere men fought off a flame dragon?"

Hamilton: "I tend to believe these rumors."

Pina: "Impossible…"

The waitress butted in their conversation: "But is the truth, noble knights! I was there. And I'm alive thanks to them."

Norma: "You won't fool me, woman."

Hamilton: "I believe you. Here, will you tell me what happened for some coin?"

The young knight handed her a silver coin. The waitress accepted it with a big smile on her face. "Thank you! Thank you! I will tell you what I have seen that day. Hm hm!" she wanted to attract everyone's attention in the tavern.

"It was a few days back when we first met them, they arrived in Coda village to warn us about the dragon. They even helped us move across the land. Until that one day when the dragon came and rained fire and death upon us. It was that moment when the men in green came in, riding in their mighty steel carts very fast. There were 20 of them in total. Four of them were death itself. Their faces are that of a dead and you can see yourself in their eyes. Yet, somehow, they were still human. They unleashed explosive magic on the dragon but it only made the beast angry. At one point it even burned down the death angels' cart and it went in a fiery inferno. The angels survived and defied the beast to the very end. But the dragon was set on burning them. It was at that moment when the steel chariot, the iron elephant saved them. It was huge, made of steel and would inflict fear in everyone. It roared like a lion when it moved, it made you cover your ears when it shouted and every time it shouted, the dragon would roar in pain and have fire burn its scales. The ground shook beneath us when the iron beast shouted or walked near us. But it was only when their leader shouted at someone and THAT thing came out! A large iron rod who cast a spell so powerful that it tore the dragon's left arm clean off! That day, the men in green, the death angels and the iron elephant saved us."

Pina: "Woah! How did the elephant look like?"

Waitress: "It was large, tall as two men and long. It was green, black and brown at the same time, like someone painted it. And on each sides of its head it had two drawings. One was a leopard with wings coming out as if it wanted to fly. The other drawing was a …how do I say this… it was black, like a cross but bent. It went like this…" she spoke as she proceeded to draw the Bundeswehr emblem with her finger in the air. When Pina and her knights saw it, they immediately linked it to what Bozes brought from Alnus.

Grey: "Could it be that what Bozes showed us was a part of this iron elephant?"

Pina: "If it was able to hurt and beat a fire dragon…then it sure could destroy heavy cavalry like a man crushing ants."

Hamilton: "Thank you very much for your story!"

Waitress: "Send my regards to the men in green and to the death angels if you see them."

Pina: "Wait a moment! What about the people resembling the dead?"

Waitress: "They were wearing similar green clothes. Theirs was a darker green. They also had the faces of a skull with no eyes. I said this earlier. Oh right! The leader of the death angels killed a few imperial soldiers. It looked like they raped, robbed and murdered a family who went ahead of us. The death angels got to them before us. When we passed by them, we noticed four dead soldiers with holes in their armor. Six were lined up and the leader of these death apostles killed the officer and a soldier, accusing them of rape, murder and robbery. They left the others go after the leader of the men in green stepped in. Apparently he was enraged by the fact that one of his friends killed the prisoners."

Norma: "Death angels! Ha ha ha! Soldiers of the Empire would never commit such crimes!"

From the crowd who gathered around the knights a soldier came forth. "She speaks the truth, sir. I was there. I saw death flash before my eyes. These death apostles know nothing else than to send people to the afterlife in unimaginable ways. I was spared by the apostle of Emroy from the butchering. That is why I come today before you as a soldier drafted in the army with his honor ruined and a deserter…"

Grey: "What is your name, young man?"

Erik: "My parents named me Erik, sir. Auxilia in the Imperial Army. I used to be a farmer before the recent events."

Pina: "Have you encountered the people in green?"

Erik: "Yes, your highness!"

Pina: "Do you want to join our group, Erik?"

The young Erik was speechless for a moment. "It would be an honor! My newly found honor demands that I repay my misdoings. I may not have wanted to join the legions but my father taught me of honor."

"Then welcome, Erik!" Grey spoke smiling at the tall young orange-haired young man. "Pack your belongings if you have any, we are leaving for Italica."

* * *

 **Alnus Civilian District**

D-Day + 32 days, morning

The sun was slowly rising and bathing the green surroundings in warm light. The JSDF personnel was tending its business and the refugees theirs. The villagers collected two large sacks of dragon scales from the dead on the battlefield.

Lelei spoke first: "Master, we have a large amount of scales."

Cato: "Two full sacks? Hmm… a dragon scale is worth several silver denarii. A silver denarii can sustain a person for a few days. I say, my dear, we have a lot of money on our hands to gain."

Rory: "Does that mean we are filthy rich now?"

Lelei: "We should entrust an important trader with this amount to sell."

Cato: "I have a merchant friend in Italica. He may help us if we can make a deal with him. But how will we get there with two sacks?"

Tuka: "Maybe Itami will help us again. Their means of traveling favors speed."

* * *

 **Alnus Base, Gen. Hazama's bureau**

Alistair, Itami and Erwin had been summoned by Hazama in his office.

"Gentlemen, I want to talk to you regarding Lt. Itami's request. Itami, please inform your friends."

"Yes, sir! Well, Tuka asked me if we can help them ship two sacks of dragon scales to a town called Italica. They collected the scales from the dead small dragons we have shot down in battle some time ago and it looks like these scales are very valuable. Master Cato has a friend who's a merchant in Italica and he can help them sell the large amount of goods in a short time, thus they earn enough money to sustain themselves in the future and become independent from us."

"So…we will help them?" Al asked as if he didn't knew the answer.

"Yes. RCT3 will help them. Itami, I see you made friends out of these people. You may not always fall in line with rules and orders, but the outcome is always positive. Make sure you don't get into unnecessary trouble this time. If things go bad…we have the British, German and Canadian contingent ready to leave." Hazama instructed his subordinate officer.

"But, sir… Excuse me. I thought we were stationed for guard duty. Act as a garrison for the base. Why send out everyone?" asked Alistair.

"Japan can't do all the lifting and then share the fruits of trading and mining around here with everyone like it was nothing, now can it? See this map?" Hazama asks as he points with his finger to a map on his table. Everyone gathered over it. The map was depicting the scouted regions around Alnus Hill. "Here is Alnus. To the east are the Duma Mountains, they are a natural barrier in the middle of the continent. There are a few passes through them accessible to troop movement. The most important pass is here. Right on the Appia Highway – one of the most important roads of the continent. It links the Imperial Capital, Sadera, with the west. At Italica it meets Dessria Highway. Now this highway runs south, is close to us and is in a very good condition. Our tanks can use it with no problem. So, Italica is of strategic value to us. The pass through the Duma Mountains is defended by a large castle who developed into a town: Bravil. The stronghold is built on the western side of the mountains. I, personally, expect to see another fortress on the eastern side. The Americans will be dispatched in a day to cut off the communications between Bravil and Italica. The 1.000 men strong American _'1_ _st_ _'_ armored cavalry regiment will leave Alnus tomorrow and establish an FOB (forward operation base) between Italica and Bravil. We'll wait some more before we make a bolder move and capture Bravil. A-10s and F-4s are on their way here and should arrive within a week but the runway will take a little longer to be operational. We only have helicopter support at the moment."

Erwin asked the general: "What about the rest?"

"I want to cut off the Empire in the west. We still need to figure everything out. The US soldiers will be instructed as things progress. German, Canadian and British soldiers will garrison Italica after we take it. I really hope that we will do it without violence. The _1_ _st_ _Armored_ will be there to reinforce you if required. If not, then they'll keep their position until further notice. JSDF is preparing a 3.000 strong brigade of its own for an offensive to break through the mountains with the Americans, Brits, Germans and Canadians. I'm thinking of sending Italian troops to garrison Italica later on when we gather to push eastwards. Maybe we won't be required to attack this hard."

Itami was concerned about the manpower. "General, what about the manpower?"

"Five thousand more JSDF personnel will arrive here when I ask them. They are stationed in Ginza now. Manpower will not be a major issue. Lt. Itami, you can consider this a scouting mission – go there, help your friends sell their merchandise, return and report what you learned. Be as friendly as you can. But take care of yourself and your men. You will leave tomorrow morning. Lt Alistair and Sgt. Jackson will be with you. Alistair, I hope you refrain from any unnecessary violence towards prisoners this time. Dismissed!"

"Sir, yes sir!" they all replied with a salute and left the office. Hazama turned to the map again and thought to himself "That wolf man Inigo was very happy to give us the information he knew… Why though? So, I cut them off here. The Romaria Mountains are blocking the north from any dubious maneuvers. Everything should be in our favor."

* * *

 **Alnus Base, sickbay**

Evening

Alistair visited Carter for the last time before going out on a new mission. She was wounded during the engagement with the fire dragon. A shrapnel put a hole in her left side shoulder area.

"How are you, Carter?"

"Good, sir. I'm feeling well. Doc says I'll be good to go in two weeks. The wound's healing just great."

"Listen, me and Jack will go tomorrow with RCT3 to a town called Italica. The people we brought back with us from Coda are starting to become independent but they still need our help for a while. I don't know when we will be back. If everything is ok then we'll be back by evening. Lewis seems to be doing alright too. He'll rejoin us before you."

"Take care out there, sir."

"You take care here, girl." Al softly spoke to her subordinate. It looked like they knew each other for a while now and started developing feelings for each other.

* * *

 **Alnus Base**

D-Day + 33 days, morning

The column was set up. The tank was to the rear, the LAV followed, light truck in the middle and the Humvee leading. The truck was carrying the two sacks with scales. Alistair and Jackson will be riding in it. Leley, Tuka and Rory were with Itami in the Humvee.

Itami inspected everyone before leaving. "Al, you crazy fool, that balaclava won't be helping us in establishing diplomatic relations."

"It's not meant to make me look friendly. You narrow eyes!"

"Oy, we can joke together but I'm not the only narrow eyes here. It may bother my teammates. They are narrow eyes too."

Kuribayashi was getting pissed off at Itami's jokes. "What kind of shit leader are you, lieutenant!? That's the most stupid lines you pulled out."

Pops stepped in to calm her down: "Shino! Don't speak to an officer like that!"

"Is ok, Pops. Shino, I'm sorry if I offended you. You see…I'm ungraceful" he smiled as he had one more good look. "What's up with the speakers mounted on your tank, Erwin?"

"Me and my crew made some improvements. These are for music." he replied.

"Good. Let's ride!"

The gates opened and the four vehicles left for Italica.

* * *

 **Special Region, Italica**

The trip was pleasant with no special events. Pops was teaching Lelei how to use different navigation tools. Rory and Kuribayashi were teasing Tuka and Kuwahara. Kurata was still dreaming about meeting fantasy girls. After almost two hours of driving, they reached Italica. The area around the walls were decorated by dead soldiers and smoke was rising from inside the walls. Clear signs of hostility taking place here recently. A guard from atop the gateway shouted to the convoy and made a hand gesture signaling them to stop.

Inside the walls were the remnants of a battered militia who was desperately fighting to defend the town from bandits. Pina, who arrived two days earlier with Hamilton, Grey, Norma and Erik, was poking through a visor in the gate.

"Who are they? Such carts…forged of steel. Green colors. What…" she muttered.

Grey: "Princess, we better make sure they are not hostile. Let us not waste any arrows and men."

Erik: "Princess! They are the same as those who killed my unit. Same colors of the carts. I bet the people in green and the death angels are inside those carts."

When the people heard him, they freaked out. One even let loose a bolt from his crossbow at the vehicles. It harmlessly bounced off the Humvee's steel structure as it hit at an unfavorable angle.

"Shit, they shot at us! Itami-san what do we do?"

"Calm down, Kurata! LAV, fire a few warning shots in the air. Let them know we are not easy prey. Erwin, bring your tank to the front. I will go out and greet them."

The .50 cal thundered a few shots to the sky. The sound scared the defenders of Italica as everyone covered its ears. Itami came out of his car. He was shortly joined by Lelei, Tuka and Rory. "We come in pace! We want to trade!"

As he spoke, the Leopard accelerated, broke off formation and jumped in front of the Humvee with its cannon raised to aim at the ballistas atop the battlements.

Pina saw the steel beast. And she saw the Bundeswehr emblem on the left turret side when it turned to face the defenders atop the gateway. It had the same colors as described before and as she noticed on the metal recovered by Bozes. She was scared to bits. Then, she heard a very loud voice coming from outside, it was Erwin speaking through the speakers: "We want to trade. Stop hostilities or we will kill you." And then a knocking on the door.

Itami: "Is anybody there?"

Grey: "Princess, if they really are here for trade…let them in."

Norma: "They are surely the otherworldly invaders we were supposed to scout."

Pina: "They can break in when they please if the rumors are true. They even have the famed iron elephant who helped the people in green beat a fire dragon and drive it away. How long until Bozes is here?"

Hamilton: "One or two days at normal marching speed."

She clenched her fists and let own a sigh of defeat. She opened the gate for the travelers. "Welcome to It…!" but a KO Itami made her stop. "Did…I do that?"

"RCT3 Actual down! Knocked out!" Erwin reported to the unit and then proceeded to aim the 120mm gun at Pina. Needless to say, when she saw the Leopard's turret traverse and lock her in its sights she skipped a heartbeat. Alistair jumped off the truck and ran to the scene. Rory, Lelei and Tuka were looking at Itami.

Pina: "Please… come inside."

Alistair grabbed Itami and carried him inside the walls with the convoy following in behind them. Everybody was amazed by the tank. It was majestic and intimidating. Its screeching sounds made by its tracks and metal side skirts clinging to each other struck fear into many of the militiamen. These were the sounds the cavalry heard before being killed in the battle at Alnus.

Tuka was pouring water from Itami's canteen on his face to wake him up. "Are you always so reckless!?" she furiously asked.

Alistair jumped in. Normally, he would be in command after Itami. With his helmet, skull mask and tactical goggles on, he asked Pina: "What were you doing, girl?" giving her the stare of death. He slowly approached her but Hamilton came forth and put herself between the British veteran and the princess. "This is an insult to her Imperial highness Pina Co Lada to be addressed in this barbaric manner! Apologize immediately!"

Al lowered his eyes at the short brown haired teenager. "Did I ask you anything, little girl? Ehm? Did I?". Hamilton stared into his goggles but she only saw her reflection and felt an invisible pair of eyes reaching into her soul. She gathered courage for a very foolish move.

"I will not stand idle while you insult the princess and her knights!" then reached for her sword, only managing to draw it out halfway before Alistair punched her with his left fist in the liver hard enough she felt it through the armor. The small steel knuckles from his gloves took most of the force and he barely felt anything. He then proceeded to punch her in the chin with his right fist and disarm her. "Bloody good knight you are." he spoke as he held her hands to her back before throwing her half conscious to the ground and breathing heavily. "Put more armor on your abdomen, girl. So… I take this red hair young girl is royalty. Where are you from?"

Pina nervously watched as her childhood friend, Hamilton, got disarmed and beaten with just two punches by the very man who was speaking to her with a cold authoritarian voice. "Princess Pina Co Lada of the Empire."

"The Empire? I see a resemblance in your battle gear. Similar decorations to that stupid imperial officer I killed a few days ago." the veteran said with a dull tone. Then he noticed Erik. "Ey, lad! I recognize you. You were one of those who escaped justice."

Erik rustled his jimmies when he heard the words. The death angel remembered him. He then noticed Rory holding Itami's head in her hands. "Ooo! You that boy. I see old habits die hard." Rory noted on his choice of companionship.

"Your holiness, I have not taken part in any lawlessness. Not back then and not from that moment to this day. And I never will. My comrades were criminals, outlaws bearing the colors of the Imperial Army."

"He's waking up!" Rory shouted startling Itami. The Japanese officer jumped on his ass. "Where are we? Are we inside?". Kurata confirmed it to him: "Yes, sir. You were put cold out by the red girl."

Itami turned his eyes to the people around him. "They are in a rough shape. Many injured and dead. They must have been fighting for the past few days." He then rises on his two feet. "Thank you Rory, Tuka. Now… who can brief me on the situation?". Alistair turned around and reported to his friend and CO: "The red haired young girl here knocked you out when she accidentally hit you in the head with the gate. Apparently …" turns for a moment to have another look at her "…she is an Imperial princess. Pina Co Lada of the Empire. Regarding the situation, I can't tell you much. I hope her highness can tell us more. After all, we are here to trade and we get shot at."

"Princess, excuse the rough manners right now but care to inform us what is going on?" Itami requested.

"First of all, I want to know who you are."

Itami came closer, helped Hamilton get off the ground and sit on a barrel. "My name is Youji Itami, I'm a First Lieutenant in the JSDF. These two here are Lieutenant Alistair and Sergeant Jackson, soldiers part of the British contingent. The young and proud man over there up in the tank's turret is Lieutenant Erwin of the Bundeswehr with his men, they are German. The rest are my subordinates. Why is the city in such a rough shape, princess?"

Pina was sure – the same people who are occupying Alnus. But if the rumors about them were true, then she needed their help to fend off the bandits. "We will talk inside. Please, follow me. Norma, please stay here for the moment and reform the defenses."

"Copy that! Pops, you got command. Al, Erwin, do you want to come?"

"Aye!". "Yes, sir!"

Pina, Grey and Hamilton walked the three officers to the castle. They met Countess Myui who offered them a warm welcome and invited them to talk. The young countess asked them: "Who are you, people?"

"First Lieutenant Youji Itami."

"Lieutenant Alistair." he spoke after he took down his face covers.

"Lieutenant Erwin Kalb."

"Are you all brothers of a family called 'Lieutenant'?"

"No, Countess. That is our military rank. We are officers. I'm officer in the JSDF – the armed forces of Japan."

"I am from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Soldier in the British Army, Countess. And this here…" Alistair showed the small flag on his left arm's uniform "…is our flag."

"Erwin Kalb! From Germany. I'm from a family with military tradition. My father and grandfather served in the military. My grandpa even served as a tanker from a very young age in World War II."

"World… War…Two?" repeated a confused Pina.

"Are you vassals of Japan?" Myui continued curiously.

Alistair wasted no second in giving his answer: "No. In our world there is no such thing as vassals. Every nation is sovereign and takes its own decisions. Ours decided to aid Japan against the unprovoked and deliberate attack launched by the army of the Empire against the nation of Japan. Hundreds of innocent civilians were murdered in the streets by your soldiers. When one of our friend nations is hurt, we do our best to help them. We came through the gate to bring those responsible for these atrocities against humanity to justice. Whoever sent your army through that gate just made the terrible mistake of digging its own grave."

Pina: "What you people are doing is invading our lands and occupying our holy hill of Alnus!"

Alistair: "Princess, I don't give two shits on your holy hill. Good and innocent people died because someone thought it was a good idea to send an army in an unknown place to subjugate the land! We are here to get justice and we are here to stay."

"Calm down, Al. No need to be too harsh. We are here for justice but we are here to establish diplomatic relations too."

"But he's right, Itami."

Pina: "You are very insolent, soldier."

"Calm down! Why are we here, princess Pina?" Itami wanted to return to the main topic. "We want to sell dragon scales. Some people could really use the money they can get by selling them. But I see the town is in a delicate situation."

"Yes. Soldiers who were sent to fight you at Alnus turned to banditry after the defeat. And there are many of them. Most of the forces have returned home… but there are those who seek bloodshed and crime for a living. Our position is precarious. The city lacks the manpower to defend itself against these threats. Most of the men were sent to fight at Alnus and never came back. Count Formar went through the gate to never come back. I …I can't believe I am asking this from you… I'm spitting on my pride right now… But I want you to aid us in the defense of the town."

"Fuck your pride." muttered the British soldier in english.

"On behalf of my soldiers and as commanding officer of my unit, I accept your request. We will help you defend Italica."

Pina could not believe what she heard – they accepted her request to defend the city without thinking much about it.

"I thank you on behalf of the citizens of Italica."

* * *

AN: Sixth chapter is here. Please leave a review so I know how to write them in the future. The next chapter is about defending Italica and is ready (i've written them a while back and what comes from now on is not written; please take note that I still have an exam to pass before a two week break when I can write). I will upload the next chapters after I write them.


	7. Ch 7 - Of A Might Divine

**Chapter 7: Of A Might Divine**

* * *

 **Alnus Base, Intel Division**

D-Day + 33 days, evening

"Sir! We have a message from RCT3. They are requesting assistance in defending the town of Italica." an operator reported.

"What? Details!" his superior demanded.

"Upon arriving in town, they were met with resistance. A very large group of bandits are attacking the town and they expect another attack this night. Lt Itami accepted to aid in the town's defense. They need help as soon as they can get it. It also looks like a member of the Empire's royal family is there – Princess Pina Co Lada. She's the military commander of the town atm."

"Sent this immediately to Gen. Hazama!"

* * *

 **General Hazama's office**

"Colonel Dietrich, I am glad you came so quickly. I have a mission for you. You have been briefed previously about our moves." Hazama stated.

"Yes, Herr General! Garrison Italica and establish an FOB there. I will do my best." Dietrich replied.

"You will still operate without the 5 tanks I've assigned to the recon teams for the time being. 15 tanks should be fine considering we are up against a military equivalent to medieval European armies. Plenty of LAVs and M113s, MANPADS (man portable air defense system)… you get the picture. Defending the city and the surroundings should pose no problem with the manpower under your command. Helicopter support is always at your disposal. Securing the region is top priority."

"Understood. I'm also taking the British military music band with me."

"Very well! You get two AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters too. I wish you well fortune, colonel!"

"And sir… I take it RCT3 will be under my command while at Italica, right?"

"Yes, Colonel. Why?"

"It just happens so that RCT3 has attached to it a few British soldiers, one of them broke the regulations and had zero interest for morals."

"So news reached you too?"

"Yes. Command back home wants him arrested and I will do just that. May I ask why he was not put into jail as soon as we learned about his 'exploits'?"

"I don't know, Colonel. LtCol. Robert insisted that he will deal with this. Alistair is under his command."

"The CO of the British detachment sympathizes too much with his men. General, please address this issue or I will fill a complaint against him for incompetence." Dietrich spoke as he left the office.

"Prussian honor… yet you are still right." Hazama thought to himself.

Despite the fact that all these countries sent in troops to help Japan because they all had close friendly ties to each other, doubled by the promise of obtaining resources from the Special Region through commerce and mining resources, some of the high ranking officers did not get along with each other's character.

The British, Canadian and German units had an hour to prepare for the mission ahead. They formed up in a column with the tanks leading, APCs and IFVs bringing up the rear, intercalating trucks with soldiers and supplies.

"Soldiers, march!" Dietrich ordered through radio from atop his command APC.

* * *

 **Italica**

D-Day + 34 days, 3am

"Itami, why the hell did you agree on taking this post all by ourselves?" Al asked, visibly irritated by something.

"Huh?"

"Don't 'huh' me, lad! No support. Just us. We could be overrun and killed and then she comes along with her soldiers and loots us after the battle. Who knows what is going on in her mind."

"She is leading the defense of Italica. I thought of that too. But that won't be the case. It'd look too nice to be true. A gateway with no lights…nothing… we have our NVGs (night vision goggles). It's a bluff but it may very well work in our favor. Plus…we have reinforcements underway."

"Who did they send?"

"Everyone. British, Canadian and German personnel has left Alnus and should reach Italica soon. Garrison the town, secure the region, establish FOB. We have to hold out until they get here."

Just as Itami was finishing his last words, Shino came running at him.

"What's wrong, Kuribayashi?" he asked.

"Bandits spotted! Marching down the eastern road. We need to hurry there!"

"Have you informed Erwin?"

"Yes, sir. He is waiting for you."

"Al, go get Tomita and Jackson. Shino, get up on that tank. Make ready for combat. If the bandits don't make a move on this gate or the south gate then the rest of RCT3 can reinforce the eastern walls. Make haste!"

Rory, obviously feeling left out, jumped in on Itami's shoulders. "Aren't you forgetting about me, Youji?".

"Of course not, Rory." he nervously smiled.

In just two minutes, Hussar Three left the western gate with Itami, Rory, Kuribayashi, Tomita, Alistair and Jackson riding atop of it.

"RCT3 actual to Alnus Base or whoever else can hear me, the east gate is under attack."

"Turn the music on, Franz!" Erwin ordered his gunner. And then, from the speakers mounted on the sides, music started flowing.

* * *

 **Italica's Eastern Gateway**

Pina was atop the battlements with Grey, Norma, Hamilton and the militia. She was nervously following the 800 bandits preparing to attack the town. Her militia ready to loose the arrows at the brigands at her command.

"There are just too many of them!" a worried Hamilton's voice stated.

Grey was furiously trying to come up with tactics. "Maybe we can make them bleed out in street fights. A tight formation can hold on in narrow streets."

Norma was the calmest of them all. Was he stupid or just very disciplined before the dire situation they were in? He just reached for his sword and lifted it up in the air with his right hand. "Make ready!" he shouted. Just as they were starting to lose hope, the sound of music, engine and metal could be heard behind them. Hussar Three, the Leopard 2A6, arrived at the eastern gate.

 _Ob's stürmt oder schneit, ob die Sonne uns lacht,_

 _Whether it storms or snows, or the sun smiles on us,_

It was the famous 'Panzerlied', the song of the German tankers from WW2 that was coming out of the speakers.

Erwin was full of energy and so was his crew. He asked his comrades to get down. "Everyone, please get down and watch the show from up there" he pointed his finger at Pina. "Hussar Three is charging out."

"What are they doing?" was the question on everyone's mind.

"Erwin, take care out there. We will give you covering fire."

"No need, Itami. Preserve your ammo for those who get past us. Take defensive positions. OPEN THE GATES!" he commanded.

"What!? No! Do you want to let them in?" Pina scolded him.

"Princess, open the gates for me and I can save you a lot of trouble. You can close them after I move out."

"What is he trying to do?" Grey was asking but nobody answered. Then Pina ordered: "Open the gates!"

Everybody jumped off the tank and ran up on the wall. Alistair was following Erwin with his eyes. "That guy really wants to take it on the chin for us." he muttered. Then he watched as Erwin drew out a sword that looked like those from the 19th century, most certainly a cavalry sword. "Where the hell did he got one? And how did he sneak it up here!?"

Erwin raised his arm up high, pointing the blade to the heavens. As he was singing along with his crew and with the speakers, he lowered his right hand slowly as the gates opened for him. Up to the point the sword was pointing to the bandits. The engine roared like a mighty feline preparing to attack.

 _Mit donnernden Motoren, zu schnell wie der Blitz,_

 _With thundering engines, too fast as lightning,_

 _Dem Feinde entgegen, im Panzer geschützt._

 _Towards the enemy, sheltered in the tank._

 _Voraus den Kameraden, im Kampfe ganz allein, ja ganz allein._

 _Ahead of our comrades, In the fight all alone, yes all alone._

As the lyrics went on with the music at maximum volume, the tank moved forward and rushed outside, the gates closing behind them.

"What is that music?" Pina kept asking while watching Erwin's tank charge alone like a mad man. "He will die!"

"That is wrong. He and his crew are in the safest place once could be right now – inside the mighty Leopard 2. And their song… that is the song of the German tankers, the 'Panzerlied'." Alistair gave her the answer.

"What is a…tanker?" Pina asked in return.

"Tankers are those who valiantly charge ahead in their tanks, the riders of the land emperors! The riders of the tanks. God bless them! Those bandits are as good as dead."

Hussar Three barely made it 20 meters from the gates before sending an HE shell at the enemy lines. Everyone jumped at the boom of the 120mm smoothbore cannon. The defenders followed the HE round, shining in the night like a tracer, as it cut through air and fell among the former soldiers, now bandits, sending shrapnel and death in a fiery detonation. The consequences on the human body was horrific – flying pieces of people, hands, legs, organs and blood. The carnage was intensified by the howling of the coaxial MG3 machinegun. 7,62mm rounds found targets everywhere among the enemy lines.

"Woah! It can summon magic like that?"

"He is going to go through their ranks! Archers! Loose arrows!" Norma shouted

"Hold it, you idiot!" Jackson jumped. But everyone fired. "Try only to take down those who make it past the tank! You might hit Erwin while he's still outside the hatch!"

Pina's ears were ringing and hurting but they were recovering. Hussar Three's cannon and machinegun fire was easy to tolerate when it wasn't going near you. She watched with her jaw dropped as everything the bandits threw at the steel chariot bounced off its armor – arrows, bolts, spears. RCT3 members have set up firing positions on the walls, covering as much ground as possible. "Try to save ammo! We might have to shoot a lot of them." Itami instructed his men.

"Vorwärts Männer!" Erwin shouted as he raised his right arm like a napoleonic era hussar, curving it and preparing to cut down some infantry. The bandits formed up in a formation similar to the phalanx. „If you bastard bastards think you can stop my tank with that..." Erwin's last words were needless. The tank rammed through the shields and spears, splintering them to bit, and crushing the men beneath its tracks. The meat of those caught exploded under the pressure of 60 tons of beauty and death. Blood and flesh painted the tracks red. Hussar Three discharged death from its cannon and MG3 everywhere as it cleared a path among the bandits, leaving crushed and mutilated bodies behind. Many of the bandits recognized the sounds of death – the very same thing happened back at Alnus.

„Is this the power of the iron elephant? Of the iron chariot that helped defeat the dragon? Is this what happened to the heavy cavalry at Alnus? Nothing could withstand its power." – those were Pina's thoughts. She was scared by the power she brought inside the walls. What if they would ever turn on the town? She felt lucky she could get their help in defending the city.

„Shit! Here they come! Open fire!" the defenders opened fire on the advancing bandits. Rory jumped down, smiling and laughing with a psycho's look in the eyes. „Shit, Rory's loose. Rory! Don't get yourself killed!" were Itami's words at her, but Rory was slicing everyone who she thought to be expendable.

The dead kept piling up and the Sun was rising, bathing the blood stained fields and walls of Italica in the morning's light. Colonel Dietrich's column was close to the city. He was able to see the smoke rising and distinguish the sound of cannon fire in the distance. „Everyone, hurry up! Leopards, deploy in attack formation! IFVs form up as a cleaning force behind the tanks. Leave nothing alive! Infantry and APCs will wait in reserve. Hurry up!"

Up on the eastern walls everyone was fiercely fighting to defend the town. Many bandits got passed Erwin. He turned his tank and started running circles and running over as many as possible. Bauer was complaining blood started to block his view.

Shino was engaged in close quarters combat with a bunch of bandits while the others gunned them down. Pina ordered a full retreat behind the wooden palisade built inside the walls. „Retreat while you can!" she shouted to RCT3 members. Hearing her, everyone rushed down the stairs and left the gateway undefended. Norma and a few of the militia were caught up and left behind. They were slain in a moment. Norma got a spear in his back and a sword in his liver. His armor was good but not the best. The broadsword was designed to pierce steel plate and it pierced his armor, dealing the fatal blow. Norma died shortly and was thrown from the walls. The Rose Order of Knights suffered its first casualty in combat.

Then, out of nowhere, two AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters descended upon the bandits close to the wall, setting everything on fire with HE warheads and cutting down foes with the Gatling gun mounted beneath.

Jackson on radio: „Cavalry is here, lads!". They sighed in relief when they heard him and noticed the choppers. All RCT3 elements were on their way to the east gate to aid in the defense. Inside the gates fighting broke out. Pina, tired, pulled back with her knights as Rory made an appearence inside the walls and started chopping down more bandits, their numbers rapidly declining. The two helicopters made a fly-by over the walls, clearing them with cannon fire. Then, one broke off formation and headed to the east and one to the west, went above the buildings and positioned itself above the defenders' heads.

"RCT3, this is Hunter 1. Any friendlies must retreat in 10 seconds behind the second line of defenses. We'll kill what is left behind."

Itami relayed the instructions to everyone. He had to go recover Rory by force. Just as he made it to his platoon, the Gatling gun roared to life, raining 20mm rounds on the bandits.

"BBRRRRRRTTTTTTT!"

Yeah! The distinctive sound of a Gatling gun. Nothing compared to the A-10s Avenger 30mm gun. The knights' jaws dropped again to the ground when they witnessed the Cobra unleashing hell.

"What… Iron Pegasus with people riding it… What is this? The iron elephant and now this? Brutal firepower… total destruction. Thunder and death… Just as King Duran said."

Shortly, more distant cannon fire could be heard in quick succession followed up by numerous explosions outside the walls. Curious, everyone wanted to rush up the walls to see what's going on. Wherever one tried to step he'd step on a corpse or the remains of a corpse. Pina held her hand at her mouth when she felt like throwing up at the gory sight that awaited them up on the walls and below the walls. The only ones who felt like walking through a park were Rory, Sgt. Jackson and Lt. Alistair.

When the four knights saw the events unfolding outside they couldn't believe their eyes. "There's more of them!" Hamilton shouted. "They are charging in. Gods! In all my years of service in the Imperial Army…I haven't seen such a terrible battlefield."

Dietrich's tanks were charging in a chevron formation. They scattered the last bandits or shot them. Behind them, IFVs and APCs were slowly making their way to Italica.

* * *

The Slaughterfest of Italica would remain in history as one of the most one-sided engagements ever. It was early in the morning when Combat Unit _Europa_ , name given because of the soldiers' native continent, arrived with its full numbers at Italica. Dietrich came out of his command APC. He had a good look around before ordering his men: "I want Lt. Kalb here immediately. Tell the British music band I want them right here ASAP. Four more Leopards behind Erwin's will be here. In front of the column I want the singers. And in front of them, leading the parade will be the flag bearers. I want to see the flags of Japan, UK, Germany and Canada. Flag bearers – singers – infantry – tanks – five LAVs / IFVs – five M113s. Fast! Hey you there!" Dietrich was calling out to a platoon of 6 LAVs with soldiers riding on it "Get here, in formation in the column. We are going to parade through this city in thirty minutes."

Everyone was dragging away the dead and rounding up the few prisoners. Pina, Grey and Hamilton were around Norma's body. They put him on a rock and covered his body with an Imperial flag.

Grey breaks the silence: "It was fortunate to have the men in green… the JSDF as they call themselves… here to help us. I don't think the town could have survived."

Pina, still looking down on Norma's body: "But was it wise, Grey? Have we not brought upon the town of Italica a destructive force comparable to that of gods?"

Hamilton: "Princess, they agreed to help us. They seem well intended people."

Pina: "We shall see how well intended they are. Now that their army is here…"

They then turned their eyes to the main street leading to the eastern gate. A lot of noise was coming from there. When the three nobles came out of the mansion's yard they saw a lot of people on each side of the road cheering at a column of soldiers marching through the city. "What on…?"

(Small British fanfare now singing _Scotland the Brave_ )

They first saw four soldiers carrying the flags. "Are those their flags?" they asked each other. "I've definitely seen two of the flags on their uniforms. They even have music bands in their army?". After the bearers came the fanfare and behind them was Third Recon Team parading through Italica's streets in their battle uniforms, painted red by blood and brown by dirt. Behind RCT3 was Colonel Dietrich in a Humvee in his field uniform saluting the civilians. He was followed by infantry and heavy and light armor. The parade made a tour around the mansion on the streets before coming to a halt. The fanfare is now singing _Amazing Grace_.

"Itami! What is the meaning of this?" Pina asked Itami who was still standing at attention with the others.

"I'm sorry, Princess. But you will have to speak to my superior. He's that man over there. Colonel Dietrich." Itami replied and made an eye gesture to show where Dietrich is.

"They look so great! These soldiers are killers but also look great at the same time." Rory said.

"Many from Alnus came here." were Tuka's thoughts.

Lelei: "I didn't know they had so many and powerful weapons."

Pina approached Lelei to ask for her assistance to facilitate communication with Colonel Dietrich. The two then approached the German officer. Lelei will be translating for each other.

Pina: "I wish to know who you are, seeing you're the one in command of these soldiers."

Dietrich: "Name's Karl Dietrich. I'm a Colonel in the Bundeswehr, the armed forces of Germany and commanding officer of the Special Region Combat Unit _Europa_."

Pina: "Are you vassals of Japan?"

Dietrich: "No, young girl. We are friends and friends help each other. Who am I speaking with? I've introduced myself and it'd be nice if you could tell me your name."

Pina: "Pina Co Lada, Third Princess of the Empire and commander of the Rose Order of Knights."

Dietrich: "Pleased to meet you, Princess!" spoke as he reached out a hand.

Pina nervously asked Lelei "Why…is he asking me if I want to be his wife?". Of course, Lelei translated her question.

Dietrich let his hand down. "I'm sorry. It was not what that meant for me. Back on Earth this is how people greet each other. I don't know if I'm supposed to bow or something like that, I have never met someone with royal blood before."

Pina: "I… I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. So…colonel. What is it exactly that you are doing right now, marching through the streets of Italica like that, with your flags and music?"

Dietrich: "Princess, may I ask how old you are?"

Pina: "Nineteen years old."

Dietrich: "For such a young girl to be the commander of a military order. And on top of that of royal blood too and out here in the province, even in the thick of it."

Pina: "You have women soldiers too, don't you?"

Dietrich: "Yes, we do. But not one who is part of a royal family. To answer your question, Princess, we are just parading through the city we helped defend. To tell you more, I first have to speak to whoever is in charge of Italica. Are you?"

Pina, stupefied: "PARADING!? No, I'm not in charge. That would be Countess Myui. Please follow me to her."

Myui, Pina, Grey, Hamilton, Dietrich and Itami will decide the future of Italica together.

* * *

 **AN:** Chapter seven is here and eight is being written. Please leave your opinion via reviews :D they are much appreciated and help me perfect myself. Opinions and ideas are gladly accepted.


	8. Ch 8 - Eppur Si Muove

**Chapter 8: Eppur Si Muove**

* * *

 **Italica, Formal Mansion courtyard**

D-Day + 34 days

After helping defend the town of Italica, Combat Unit _Europa_ of the Special Region Joint Task Force (named so because of the many countries involved with their military) organized a parade through Italica's streets from the eastern gate up to the central plaza. The people cheered them and welcomed them as their saviors.

RCT3 members were tired after a night up and a bloody morning of battle. The unit pulled back out of the curious and cheering eyes of children and civilians. Everyone was sitting on something, their legs begging for rest.

"Erwin, you saved this town. You are the hero here." Itami congratulated his German bud.

"What I did was out of madness and overconfidence. Now we have to wash the tank from all the blood. At least there are no more human parts sticking to it… Mein Gott! That was a massacre… And I even cut them down some of them with my family's cavalry sword."

"So that was in your family for a time?"

"Yes… I come from a family with tradition in military. Cavalrymen. At beginning cuirassiers and then tankers."

Three men showed up before the soldiers of RCT3. The man in the middle is a regular stature officer wearing his field uniform, he is holding a helmet in his left hand. To his left and right are two soldiers with M4 at the ready. The officer speaks:

"Who is Lt. Alistair and Sgt. Jackson?"

The British officer used his gun's stock to get up. He was tired and could barely keep himself from falling asleep. "That would be me and Jack is that fella."

"I'm Col Karl Dietrich. Lt Alistair, for breaking the rules and shooting prisoners during the evacuation of Coda village, you are now placed under arrest. You will be then escorted to Alnus for further investigation into your case and trialed by a Martial Court. You know what happens if you are found guilty. Sgt. Jackson! You will be placed under arrest too."

The two British soldiers were somewhat resigned with the fact. They knew this would happen sooner or later.

"Lt Itami, you will come with me. RCT3, get some rest and something to eat. Soldiers, escort these two to their cells for the time being." the German officer spoke.

* * *

 **Italica, Formal Mansion**

Countess Myui and Princess Pina Co Lada were sitting on the two thrones inside the audience room. Grey was to Pina's right acting as bodyguard while Hamilton was preparing a few papers. Itami and Dietrich were standing at attention before the nobles.

Myui: "I would like thank you for saving the town of Italica, men in green."

Dietrich: "It is not just our duty, but also desire to keep order and peace for the people to live their lives."

Pina: "Countess, this is the leader of the soldiers who paraded through the streets of Italica, Colonel Karl Dietrich."

Myui: "Paraded? So it was you who I watched through the window. You were so lovely!" the 11 years old countess said with a childish and enthusiastic voice. But she also seemed to be maturing very fast for her age. Probably because she has to rule a town from such a young age is at fault.

Pina: "What will you do now, Colonel?"

The officer adopted a more relaxed standing before speaking. "Milady, I have orders to garrison the town of Italica and establish a new base of operations for our army here."

Everyone suddenly jumped from their seats. "What? You want to occupy the town?" Pina asked.

"This is not occupation in the literal meaning of the word. Countess Myui will keep her position as the Countess of Italica and retain her properties. So will the rest of the townspeople. We will not take anything from you. We will help rebuild the town, repair the damages and set up a base inside the walls and outside the walls too. No women will be raped, no house pillaged. Any soldier from our ranks who will commit any crimes against the people of Italica will be put under arrest and trialed. Those found guilty may face sentences from several years up to life in prison or even the death sentence, one punishment not encountered in our militaries for a very long time. We don't ask tribute or anything like that. All your resources will go into rebuilding and taking care of your town."

Myui: "This… This is very kind and acceptable terms."

Dietrich: "We also like to request permission to establish a trading post in Italica and tax exemption."

Myui: "Mhm. I accept."

Hamilton: "What about us?"

Dietrich: "What about you?"

Itami: "Sir, Pina is an Imperial princess, daughter of the emperor who rules this Empire that attacked Japan. More, they are part of a military order and have probably taken a vow of loyalty. That makes them enemy soldiers. But they were pretty good people up to now."

Dietrich: "I see… Miss…Hamilton, are you afraid of becoming prisoners of war?"

Hamilton: "That is one thing we are asking ourselves."

Dietrich: "It would be in our mutual interests if you remain free and do as you please. But I want to ask the princess if she is willing to come to Alnus one day. Our general would like to meet you."

Pina: "What reason would he have?"

Dietrich: "While we are part of two teams fighting each other, we want to end this with the minimum number of lives lost. War is not a pretty business. You have witnessed what zero chances the bandits had before us. We could end this war very quick. But we want to save lives and if we can not bring this to an end at the diplomatic table…then I'm afraid we'll bring it to an end right in the field and in your capital's streets."

The princess took a few moments to think. Did it fall upon her to mediate a peace treaty between Japan and her allies and the Empire? She had to do something. Pina knows how stubborn the generals and senators can be. They won't listen to her alone.

Pina: "You speak wise and have a noble soul, colonel. But that would mean surrendering before your coalition. Our nation is not familiar with that practice."

Dietrich: "You adapt or you die. We don't wish to bring ruin upon your civilization. Princess, our world has a long and bloody history of conflicts. Empires have ascended and have fallen. There is no honor in doing something stupid and stubborn. Honor does not come to you through death and blood. Pride should not stand between you and judgment. Being stubborn during times of war can lead to many lives lost for nothing."

Pina: "Do you know why I'm here?"

Dietrich: "No, I haven't acquired that information yet."

Pina: "Me and my order of knights have been tasked with scouting Alnus Hill. And now here I am, negotiating with an enemy officer who is asking me to persuade the Senate to sue for peace in a war where they've lost every battle they fought. Right now I should fight you. What should I do? My allegiance lies towards the Empire."

Dietrich: "You are young, Princess. You are young and seem to posses the talent of a soldier. Your loyalty should not be directed towards the Senate but towards your people. It would be such a nuisance to have you killed if you'd try to fight us. What should you do? Serve your people and country. You are their princess."

Pina: "I barely know you people."

Dietrich: "You will get to know very well in the near future. Princess, let me tell you something. Right now… Italica is cut off from Bravil and the east. The _1_ _st_ _Armored_ has cut off Appia Highway and has orders to prevent any troop movement from the Empire. They have not been instructed yet to stop the trade but they might very soon."

Pina: "Why are you telling me your strategy?"

Dietrich: "To show you that we are not pushing hard against you. We will try to minimize losses on both sides. Hurt the economy for a start. See how well the country feels after its main trade route to the western regions of the continent are cut off."

Grey understood what Dietrich wanted to say. "So, they want to give us time to think…"

Pina: "I, Third Princess of the Empire, Pina Co Lada, will be the mediator between the nation of Japan with its allies and the Empire. I will direct my resources into fulfilling this task. The Rose Order of Knights will assist me in my quest for peace. Colonel, please inform your superiors."

Dietrich: "I am very pleased to hear this, Princess. Now if you'll excuse me…" and leaves the room. Pina stood up and walked towards Itami. He looked him in the eyes for two seconds before asking him "Itami, for some reason I seem to trust you more. Is it true what he said?"

Itami: "Yes, Princess. He is an honorable man and if command would order him to do something bad he will refuse. Honor like a Prussian."

Pina: "Colonel! I forgot to tell you something. Please allow safe passage into Italica to my knights when they arrive. They should be here within the afternoon."

Dietrich came to a halt and turned around: "If they attack our soldiers we will restrain them until you will come. I don't think they'll believe us. Lt Itami, please go rest. Princess, I will attend to my men for the time being and inform them of your men's expected arrival."

* * *

 **Sadera, imperial Palace dungeon**

Beneath the luxurious hallways of the emperor's palace were the dungeons with jails prepared for anyone foolish enough to do something wrong and end up here. In one of these cells was Titus, a general of the Imperial Army imprisoned for speaking out against the senators. He was here for a few days already. The man was half asleep. "This darkness and loneliness makes me feel sleepy all the time" he thought to himself. Someone approached his cell.

"A once proud general now sitting here with its head down."

Titus didn't even bother to see who the visitor was. "And still proud. This pride made him voice the truth."

"But was it worth it? Rise, General Titus of Legio XI."

This man picked Titus' interest. His head switched to his visitor as he helped himself get on his feet. "If it isn't Tullius himself…"

"Been a long time, friend!"

The two greeted each other and almost had a friendly hug if not for the iron bars.

"What brings you here, Legate Tullius?"

"You are leaving this cell, Titus. The Empire needs you. Recruiting has started and the destroyed legions will be reformed." the high ranking officer and subordinate of Titus spoke while making gestures to a guard to open the cell door.

"Who will listen to me? They are all stubborn fools."

"Not everyone is a fool. Most generals agree with you, changes need to be made to fight this new enemy. And they will take action without the emperor's or the Senate's permission. Crown Prince Diabo offered his support to the military."

"So, the younger brother that's not the arrogant fool Zorzal is. You brought good news, my friend."

"Let's go. A meeting will be held tomorrow. By then you must bath yourself. You smell like piss! And visit your family, your wife has been worrying for you."

* * *

 **Italica, Southern Gateway**

It was past midday and Combat Unit Europa has already garrisoned the town and started designating the area outside the town where an FOB will be built. Italica's streets were too narrow to get everything inside. At the southern wall was Lieutenant Colonel Oliver Clemson, the commanding officer of the Canadian contingent. Another middle-aged officer chosen to lead his men in the Special Region. He liked his orange beard trimmed regularly, linking his chin to his short military-style haircut. He was in his field uniform, woodland camouflage; the small Canadian maple leaf flag on his left arm. He looked like he was scouting for something. His focus was broken when one of his men handed him two sandwiches for lunch.

"Thank you! Haven't had anything to eat since morning." Oliver thanked his man. He turned around to see Victoria cleaning her rifle. She loves her M4. "Corporal Victoria, did you play with your dolls with the same passion you clean your gun?"

She smiled before replying: "Sir, I play with other things with passion. Firearms left little room for dolls when I was a child." Victoria made a habit for dirty jokes and dirty lines and this habit got her in trouble on many occasions. The cute brunette was an open person. Always said what was on her mind without remorse.

"You know, if you keep pulling those jokes that often …well, the men might get ideas." Oliver's innocent voice let out.

"Got my boyfriend back home. For 10 years I haven't cheated on him and he didn't cheat on me."

"Still that lad from high school?"

"Yep. We were both 16 back then. Sweet Robin…"

"Doesn't he feel jealous or…awkward when he hears you saying such things out loud?"

"He got used to it. He knows this lock opens with only one key."

"Ok corporal, that would be enough. If I didn't know better I'd say you trying to get somewhere."

"Home, in my bedroom, sir."

Oliver had a WTF moment. "Jesus…" he whispered as he rubbed his face with his left palm's fingers. "Don't think too much, sir, there is only one certitude: nothing for anyone here." Victoria teased her officer even more. "Corporal Victoria Karp, one more pwn like that and you'll be under arrest."

"What for?" she asked with a child's voice. Oliver turned his eyes towards her and stared into her eyes for a second before calmly saying "I'll find something."

"Sir! Dust on the road, maybe 2 km away!" Private James Lucas reported.

"Ah! They are here."

"Who are they, sir?" asked Victoria. "Haven't you been paying attention when the colonel sent the news to everyone? The Princess' knights. Alright, boys and girls, get off your asses and be on stand-by! We don't know if they will turn hostile and not believe us. Send word to the Formal mansion, bring Princess Pina here!"

 **Ten minutes later**

* * *

The group of knights was met by LtCol Oliver Clemson and his men 100 meters from the gates. He raised his hand to signal them to stop. The group of 30 knights came to a stop. From their ranks, two of them came forth, riding their horses. They were two young girls, not looking above 20 years old. Both girls had ornate beautiful armor covering them from neck to toe. A blonde imposing girl with drill hair seemed to be their leader, a silver short-hair her lieutenant.

Oliver in a decent native language, he took some classes before deployment at Italica: "Greetings! Miss, are you the leader of this group?"

Bozes: "Yes. Who are you?"

Oliver: "Lieutenant-Colonel Oliver Clemson, officer of the Canadian Army. Who am I having the pleasure to speak with?"

Bozes: "Bozes Co Palesti. You better make sure to address a noble and a knight accordingly, soldier. What are you doing here?"

Oliver's ego took it too personal: "Miss knight, I bow before no one and I won't use any fancy titles. You might be a noble woman here, but where I am from… you see, we are all equal. And if we speak in a very political manner to a person, we mostly do it because they are narcissistic fools who call themselves 'boss' and we don't like them."

Bozes, feeling insulted, came closer to the officer and attempted to slap him. "How dare you, commoner, speak to me like that!". Her hand was caught in midair by his right hand. "I will have your head!"

"Now, now, let us not make a stupid move. We are not your enemy and your princess, Pina Co Lada, will be here shortly. She is inside Italica, on her way here to calm your tits."

Victoria smirked and had a good look at Oliver. He started to pull out these lines just after telling her to stop. Bozes was outraged. "What are you doing here? What soldier are you, wearing no armor?"

Oliver: "Oh, believe me, you hit me with a sword and I have no injury. We are here to garrison Italica. We saved the town and now are defending it from stupid teenage girls playing knights but failed to get here in time to help defend it."

Panache drew her sword and rushed at Oliver in an attempt to cut him down. But she was too late for it. Several gunshots and she was in the dirt, face down. Her horse dead. "What did you…bastards do? My horse!"

Bozes: "Panache! Are you hurt?"

Panache: "I'm fine… my horse…" she seemed to care a lot about her horse.

Bozes thought to herself "How did this happen? They did not fire arrows or hit it with a sword or a spear… yet the horse lies dead with holes in it, blood all over it." She then turned her eyes towards Victoria who pointed her gun at Bozes now. "These bastards…"

The tension in the air was high, the knights ready to draw swords and the Canadian soldiers to give them lead. Silence fell, everybody waiting for the other team to make a move. Right then, through the open gates a familiar voice came. It was Pina.

"What is going on here?" she demanded with authority.

"See? Look at you, young tits chill now that your princess is here."

"Your Highness! We were on our way here when we were stopped by these people." Bozes reported.

Pina: "Panache! Stand on your feet! You are a knight! Everyone, follow me." she ordered her knights. She changed her voice when apologized to Oliver: "I'm sorry for any inconvenience caused by my knights. Thank you for keeping your calm."

Bozes: "Your Highness, why are you speaking like that to them! They are occupying Italica."

Pina was somewhat angry: "Bozes, shut up and come inside, I'll tell you everything. Knights, do not start a fight with these people! Calm down. They are not your enemy as long as you do not attack them."

Oliver thought to himself: "Hot blonde! And hot blooded too. She's barely 20." then ordered his men: "Alright, peeps! Get moving, back inside. Find something useful to do."

Victoria waited for her superior to walk past by her so she could join him. "You like her, don't you, sir?"

"Like who?"

"The blonde. Both with egos, both short tempered sometimes… And she young" she poke Oliver with her elbow as if trying to make a point. "New frontiers!". Oliver thought to himself "That's it!" before speaking out loud: "Corporal, let's play a game. What starts with D and ends with C? I go first, disc!"

"Dick!"

"Aha! Corporal Valeria Karp, for insulting your superior officer you are going to clean potatoes for the next two days' worth of food. This is your punishment."

"Head! Dickhead!"

"I'll pass by the canteen in an hour or so, make sure to be there cleaning potatoes for my dinner or get something worse as punishment."

Victoria turned right and insulted her CO inside her mind. "Why you gotta be an idiot, Victoria?" she asked herself.

"That girl got no shame whatsoever. Is she actually serious or doing it for the shits and giggles? Certainly knows how to give you a boner with her stupid dirty jokes." Oliver Clemson thought to himself while walking with his M4 covering his boner.

As the column of knights made its way inside, they took notice of the green tanks, the Hussar Leopards, and of the soldiers of different nationalities.

* * *

 **Italica, Formal Mansion**

Pina's quarters were separate from the others. Countess Myui offered the Imperial princess her own space. Here, with Bozes, Panache, Grey and Hamilton, she could speak her mind without worrying Dietrich's men would hear her. She explained everything to her two newly arrived subordinates.

Bozes: "Pina, I know you since we were children. How can you give up now?"

Pina: "Who said I am giving up? Do you believe I'd allow them to take Italica if I could do something about it? Their military might is unprecedented! I have witnessed their power with my eyes. Just one of those…tanks… was able to wreck havoc on the brigands."

Bozes: "Are they responsible of destroying the heavy cavalry at Alnus?"

Pina: "Yes. I will not fight when I know victory is not within reach. And I will not send tens of thousands to their deaths against the JSDF and her allies. I want to know more about these people. And, if possible, learn the secrets of their power. But this takes time. Time we don't have…"

Grey: "Is that why you accepted their offer for negotiations?"

Bozes: "Negotiations!?"

Pina: "Yes. We will buy time. I am not giving up on the Empire!"

Hamilton noticed Pina clenching her fists as if she tried to strangle her most hated enemy. "Princess, calm down!"

Pina: "We need to send word to the capital! Grey, where is Erik?"

Grey: "The boy is sleeping. After a night's fighting he deserves it."

Pina: "He will leave tomorrow at first light. Tell him to rest well, he will be riding some time."

Grey: "Hmm?"

Pina: "Ready a horse for him. I want him to carry a letter to the Senate. We need to inform them of what is going on."

Hamilton: "How will he get there? First, we need to smuggle him out of town. Then he needs to avoid enemy patrols. Their leader said that they have soldiers between Bravil and Italica."

Grey: "He is living in a village nearby. He will be visiting his family. Send him with no armor, that way he will attract the last attention."

Bozes: "Sounds like a good plan."

Pina: "Good. He'll leave from the eastern gate. When he's out from here he will turn to north and make his way to Bravil. Grey, please instruct him on his mission. I am going to write for him a paper to ease his journey as a representative of mine. The Order will remain in Italica for the time being. We can't make a move without risking a conflict. Grey, please go instruct Erik if he's awake. If not let him sleep more. Hamilton, bring me a quill and paper."

* * *

 **Italica, Recon Team Three tents**

Evening was upon the continent of Falmart once more. Every soldier was having its dinner and resting. Every soldier except for those on guard duty. RCT3 members were all tending to their business after eating together. Itami was inside his tent reading one of his novels. He was so into the book, he didn't notice Rory sneaking in with her halberd. She put it down and knelt to Itami's left side.

"What are you reading, Youji?"

"Oh! Rory. When did you come in here?"

"Not too long ago. What are you reading there? Novels again?"

"Yeah. I really like them. Want to try reading one?"

"I'm too tired, Youji." Rory said as she fell down on his bedroll.

"Oy! The girls' tent is the other one if you feel like sleeping."

"Itami, why don't you take me here? I'm too tired."

"You can't be serious."

"But I am." Rory says and then closes her eyes.

"Jeez… What did Lelei do with the scales?" Itami asked as he took Rory in his hands to take her in the other tent.

"She did well. We got enough money."

Itami went outside holding Rory in his hands as if she was her daughter or niece. When Kurata saw him he felt jealous. "Not fair! What are you doing, Itami-san!?"

"I'm taking her to sleep. Rest your imagination, Kurata."

Shino was a bit frustrated when she spoke: "Pervert captain."

"Shut your mouth, Kuribayashi! She is just like a child. How could I?"

Rory tucked herself at his chest and pretended to fall asleep over the noise.

"You got your loli goth girl and I am still looking for my cat girls. Not fair!"

"There is no reasoning with you two thick heads." Itami replied before taking Rory inside the women's tent. "Is anybody inside? I'm coming in for a moment." He then went inside. "Ok Rory, there you are. Good night!" the JSDF officer wished her after making sure she is covered with something to keep her warm. "Right. Now I better get back to sleep. Tomorrow we have a meeting to attend."

* * *

 **AN:** Chapter 8 is here, "And yet it moves". Please leave feedback :D

 **the renegade soldier:** Thank you for your support :D I am not leaving RCT3 aside. I will attend them more in the future and develop the relation between Rory and Itami in one direction. But, at fans' request, I rushed a bit some of the things I had on my mind.

 **Shadoweye12:** Thank you too, sir, for your support. Every country will play a part, if someone seems to get left behind then it is because I haven't come up to the point where they go in.

 **Nicodemus V:** Hehe! Thank you! I want to give every one of them a unique personality. Mostly, I come up with the story as I go on but the ideas are there and I develop them. I know where I want to get but i take turns here and there before arriving.

 **mileto1, The Tundra Fox:** Here it is. Thanks for the support, guys!

 **Kevinkocher1:** He will be trialed in the upcoming chapters. I will look up documentation to make sure I get it right :) But if you have a website where I can read the rules of UK Army and punishments all the better.


	9. Ch 9 - Chess & Generals

**Chapter 9: Chess & Generals**

* * *

 **Italica, Eastern Gateway**

D-Day + 35 days, early morning

Erik and Grey are walking together with a horse following Erik's lead. Erik is dressed in regular clothes, those of a commoner. His only defense is a dagger hidden under his clothes. Grey was in his armor.

Grey: "Do not fail, Erik. Safe travels. And, if there is time, visit your family too."

Erik: "Will do, milord."

Grey: "Here is the bag with your missive and some food and money."

The gate was manned by German soldiers. And the guards noticed Grey and Erik. The guards' commander asked the two of their whereabouts: "Good morning! What are you doing here so early?"

Erik gave the guard an answer with a smile on his face: "He who's up early will travel far before nightfall."

Guard: "True. But you still have to answer my question."

Erik: "I am going to visit my family and I would like to get home before nightfall. The roads are dangerous nowadays, especially during nighttime."

Guard: "Alright. You can go after you tell me why one of the Imperial knights is walking you here."

Grey: "What is wrong with an old man saying his farewells to his nephew?"

The inquisitor spoke in German to his subordinates: "Alright, let them pass. Note that in the log." and again in the local language to Erik "Safe travels."

* * *

 **Italica, Combat Unit** _ **Europa**_ **HQ**

Dietrich chose as temporary HQ a storage building near the south gate. Building of a small fort outside the southern gateway has started and it should take a week before it can be used by the unit. All unit commanders have gathered around a table with a larger map of the known continent of Falmart. Present are: Colonel Karl Dietrich, Lieutenant Colonel Oliver Clemson, Lieutenant Itami, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Lee and several staff officers.

Dietrich: "Gentlemen, thank you for being able to be here. Let us get to what interests us. As you know very well, Italica is under our control. Countess Myui and the townspeople are friendly to us for saving their town and it looks like the soldiers get along well with the civilians."

Oliver: "I've seen some of them learning what it means to smoke from our men. We could sell them a large variety of products when we build and open the store."

Dietrich: "The only ones we have to keep an eye out for are the newly arrived knights. Agitating the population and throwing us out of the city. That must not happen. Of course, we will not be thrown out but the population must stay calm as it is now. I think the situation in town is very good. We have to focus on the offensive. But let me get one more thing out of the way. Lt. Itami."

Itami: "Yes!"

Dietrich: "Gen. Hazama informed me about your departure. You will be going back through the gate to report to the National… Diet. Looks like some people back home are pissed off about the casualties among the Coda villagers during the evacuation. According to RCT3's reports this should be easy to deal with. Probably just some lazy people with nothing better to do than try to shame us all with anything they could think of."

Itami: "Are all RCT3 members summoned?"

Dietrich: "You, Erwin and the girls. Plus Tomita and Kuribayashi. Princess Pina will be there too, peace negotiations they say. Now that I think of it, did you sell those dragon scales?"

Itami: "Yes, sir. Lelei broke a deal with Cato's merchant friend. They agreed on a high amount of money."

Dietrich: "Good to hear. You are leaving today at 1200 hours. I have informed the royal princess and she should be packing. The blonde girl, Bozes, will be with her."

Robert: "What about the rest? Will she leave the older knight in charge?"

Dietrich: "Certainly he's a veteran. She may leave him and her scribe in charge, we do not know yet."

Dietrich: "Ah, Itami. I forgot to tell you. This vacation beyond the gate will be at least one week long. I hear they are preparing a demonstration for the princess. Navy, army, air force, history… Looks like fun!"

Itami, disappointed: "Yay…"

Dietrich: "You are free to go, Itami. When you return from Tokyo you'll be deployed for more recon missions. This time in the Romaria Mountains."

Itami: "What? In the mountains? Sir, we are not equipped to traverse mountains."

Dietrich: "But you have the training, Ranger. Ranger and Special Forces. Those under your command are capable soldiers according to their files. You won't operate at high altitudes, don't worry that much. The Italians will do that. Fellas trained in the harsh Alps. But you will receive adequate equipment. Try not to enter the valleys and passes, just map them from outside and take photos."

Itami: "What about Alistair?"

Dietrich: "He'll go back with you and face trial for shooting the two prisoners. Pvt. Carter and Pvt. Lewis are still assigned to your unit and will return to active duty as soon as they have recovered from injuries. Another British officer will be assigned to oversee them."

Itami's eyes were staring into the brown table: "I understand."

Dietrich: "I am sorry for you, I know you know each other for a time now. But you can't just let things like that happen and pretend everything's ok. Moving on. The 3,000 strong brigade is ready. Hazama will give the order to move out shortly before the offensive."

Oliver: "What if the U.S. forces will need help in case they are engaged by a large enemy unit?"

Dietrich: "We'll send reinforcements. Plus we'll have 5 Cobra attack helicopters for extra firepower by tomorrow from Alnus."

Itami: "Let's not forget that we are facing a military far behind us, a military who still relies on riders to spread information. That gives us a larger window of opportunity to maneuver and prepare. It should take them some time before mustering another army to send against us."

Robert: "If they have any decent commanders in their brass they will reconsider sending their soldiers like that into battle. They know what happened last time at Alnus and in Tokyo."

Dietrich: "True. We still have to be very careful. Do not underestimate the enemy. They have the advantage of knowing the terrain and access to more resources than us. They are very dangerous. There is magic in this world, a phenomenon we do not understand. We rely on science and they rely on magic."

Oliver: "Science brought us here. Magic takes time to learn and master. We just manufacture weapons and put our people through training programs. Just look at this girl, Lelei – she is a sage's student. If they were able to teach magic like we teach kids in schools then things would be different."

Itami: "We don't know what warlock might reside in this Empire. If I was in their place I'd look for a loyal powerful necromancer to resurrect the fallen soldiers to fight again."

Dietrich let the words sink in before speaking with a more worried tone: "We had to fight goblins, trolls and dragon riders. The Roman Empire employed auxiliary units from the conquered provinces. Wherever they went, they integrated the local warriors into their ranks. In this fantasy-like world we have seen the same. Who knows what other creatures or people are out there."

Oliver: "We should ask that wolf man again. He was good enough to tell us basic geography. Maybe he's willing to share more information if we ask him."

Dietrich: "Good idea. I'll mention this in the report to Hazama."

Robert: "Sir, there is one thing two of my soldiers told me yesterday evening."

Dietrich: "What is it?"

Robert: "It is only natural for soldiers to make contact with the locals. Thanks to this, we learned that the countryside is suffering due to banditry. The numbers of outlaws was on the rise recently and so their activity. With very few people to restore order and bring the brigands to justice because of the recent battles where many good soldiers have died…the locals are suffering from deteriorating economy as a beginning."

Oliver: "Before you know it, news of a successful Italica might reach us. Bandits taking over cities. And you know what happens to the people…"

Dietrich: "Lt-Col Robert, how many search and destroy units can you create?"

Robert: "What are you thinking, sir?"

Dietrich: "If we have the resources then we will help the people. We'll hunt down every bandit group we learn about and restore order."

Robert: "Depending on the numbers of the enemies… I can organize four or five small units – Bradley IFV, APC and two Humvees. That means 4 soldiers riding inside the Bradley, 10 with the M113 APC, 6 in the Humvees – not including the crews of the IFV/APC and drivers of the Humvees. That means 20 infantry with support from the two armors."

Dietrich: "Please establish four of these units and coordinate this operation. Put everything on paper, I will ask for authorization from HQ for this. But watch out for traps. While we want to protect the locals and win their hearts, we don't want to be lured into enemy ambushes of the Imperial Army. Start with patrols. For larger scale operations there is the possibility of merging these small units into a larger one. Say you learn about a big brigand base, you will need more men and firepower to clear it out, that can be achieved by simultaneously attacking with all for 4 units."

Robert: "Understood, sir."

Dietrich: "But make sure to note this: any prisoners will be brought here and face adequate consequences for their outlaws. Shooting them on the spot is not an option. If they truly surrender they must be brought here. If there isn't anything else… you are dismissed. I will file a report for Gen Hazama."

* * *

 **Sadera, Imperial Army High Command**

It was midday when generals and their legates of the Imperial Army had gathered to hold an important meeting regarding the recent events. The administrative building of the military was separate from the others, but built in the same district as the Palace and the Senate. Titus is sitting at the head of the long table, a table large enough to accommodate many people. "We are fewer than I expected…" Titus noted to himself. When everyone was seated and the doors were closed the meeting officially started.

Tullius: "My lords, let us begin now that everyone is here."

Titus: "I would like to start by thanking you all for not being fools and idiots like our senators and other commanders. The crisis we are facing is without precedent – more than 100,000 soldiers dead and several legions wiped out. We have lost every battle against those who occupy Alnus Hill. And to prevail… we will need competent people in key positions. I, personally, can't trust and tolerate the senators anymore. Most of them are idiots, sitting back and ruining everything while we are sent to undo their wrongs."

"You know that what you just said is an insult to the Senate and the Empire and it is punishable even by death?" an older general spoke.

Titus: "Thankfully, you all agree with me. Don't you, Tasius?" he asked the older general with black and grey hair.

Tasius: "We wouldn't have been here if we didn't share the same opinions. We have to be careful, what we are doing here can cause huge discontent and lead to a political and even military struggle in the Empire."

Titus: "We must get the Senate to ratify our actions or we will have troubles defending the Empire because of its rulers."

"I will use my connections to push our actions to be accepted by the Senate. Don't worry too much about that, my friends. Leave the politics to Adranos." another man spoke. Judging by his attire, he is another general.

Titus: "Tired of the muddy forts, lord Adranos?"

Adranos smiled before replying: "When one gets to my age he is more productive in politics and administration rather than fighting. But my head is not as fragile as my body, Titus."

Titus: "The warrior who has put aside his weapon and armor and taken up the quill and paper. Noble method of fighting. Shame that there are too few of your kind."

Tasius: "Let us get to the strategy we should adapt for our new foe. Legate Caius" he called his Legate, "please share with our friends the news from Bravil."

Legate Caius, a 35 year old officer under Tasius' command for a long time now and fiercely loyal to the general who trained him and made him the man he is today, brought out a paper and read it out loud.

Tullius: "This is bad… That means they have cut off Appia highway. Our main communication line with the west."

Titus: "We will have to use the Row river to move troops westwards. The Row river or the northern roads which circumnavigate the dense forests south of Seth Lake."

Adranos: "Did the scouts spot anything else?"

Caius: "Just the iron elephants, some strange horseless carts and many soldiers, around 1,000. According to this description…this flag has been seen at Alnus."

Adranos: "Titus, I am giving you command of my men. Since I will be staying here to take care of politics and keep you supplied I won't be able to coordinate my soldiers and I don't want them to sit idle doing nothing. Through Legate Kaeso you shall have command of my soldiers. Kaeso, you are now Titus' subordinate."

Kaeso: "Understood, milord."

Tasius: "Experience has taught us that conventional tactics don't work against them. How are we even going to fight them?"

Titus: "Our dragon riders have been cut down at Alnus like flies. The soldiers butchered when they advanced… same fate for the Allied Army. They fight from a safe distance, unleashing destructive magic never seen before at this scale. They are formidable soldiers and mages. We should keep our distance when fighting or use unconventional fighting methods."

Adranos: "Such as?"

Titus: "Split in small mobile groups. Attack them and retreat immediately. Disrupt their supply lines. Ambush small groups and destroy them."

Tullius: "That might work."

Caius: "The trouble is how are we going to move our armies without being noticed? They see us, then they are ready for us. All they know for the time being is that we have been defeated and nothing else."

Titus: "I will take my command to the north and operate in the Romaria Mountains. The western and northern legions will come to our aid. Maybe I can even pull out a flanking maneuver and hit them when they are least expecting us to. Tasius, you will take your soldiers to the Dumas and harass the enemy. Try not to engage them in battle like at Alnus."

Kaeso: "Are we going to resume our operations only to 'hit and run' actions?"

Titus: "Yes, until our battle mages can join us."

Tasius: "So you want to bring them on the battlefield?"

Titus: "Their power is the closest thing we have against the enemy. They can even allow us quick communication through magic, we could be many leagues away from each other yet still be able to talk as if we are face to face thanks to their telepathy magic."

Tullius: "They can't move without the emperor's and the Senate's consent. We'll have to rely on the good old messenger pigeons to deliver information."

Titus: "We only have this big chance to stop them from crossing the mountains. There we can set up ambushes. We can wear them down. If the enemy breaks through the mountains then we will have a very hard time fighting them in the fields. Adranos, supply us with as many crossbows and armor piercing bolts. Get your hands on them and send them to the front lines."

Adranos: "Will take care of that."

Caius: "We should block the pass through the Duma Mountains. Dislodge rocks from the cliffs and block the Appia highway."

Kaeso: "That is a desperate measure we should agree on only if castle Bravil falls."

Titus: "Yes. We will make ready for that scenario. Tasius, please try to gain the support of other military units and commanders you encounter on your way to the Dumas. I will try to gain the favors of the desert legions and auxiliaries."

Adranos: "Titus, don't leave the provinces undefended. Last thing we need is a whole bunch of bandits ravaging the land or open rebellions. Leave enough soldiers on guard duties to prevent such unfortunate events."

Titus: "I'm no fool, I know that."

Kaeso: "What if they siege settlements?"

Tullius: "If the enemy is as powerful as they showed at Alnus there is little we can do. Did Princess Pina learn anything about them?"

Kaeso: "What could she know?"

Tullius: "Molt sent the princess and her knight order to scout the enemy at Alnus. Last time we heard about their whereabouts they were on their way to Italica. That means they have been cut off too."

Caius: "A member of the royal family threatened with encirclement and probably fall as a prisoner…"

Titus: "She's young and beautiful. I fear for her future if she is captured. Most of the knights are girls."

Tasius: "There is little we can do for her. Let us summarize. Titus will fight in the north and I will fight in the Duma Mountains. Lord Adranos will take care of the paperwork. Obtain support from military units we encounter. Avoid internal political conflict… This is a fucking mess we are about to embark on."

Titus: "At least we have Prince Diabo's support. My legion is reforming with new recruits. Adranos, your men are veterans and they will be the key. Please make sure the recruits will reach the front lines once their training is over."

Adranod: "I will do my best. Take care on the field of battle, friends. Legate Kaeso, you have not failed me before, don't fail me from now on. Titus, Tasius, when are you leaving?"

Titus and Tasius looked each other in the eyes for a moment. "Tomorrow when the morning is barely upon us. Legate Tullius and Kaeso, please go prepare the soldiers for forced march." Titus spoke. "The same goes for you too, Caius." Tasius instructed his Legate.

* * *

 **Special Region,** _ **1**_ _ **st**_ _ **Armored**_ **command post**

D-Day + 35 days, 1200 hours

The U.S. armored regiment set up a small camp with tents somewhere between Italica and Bravil. The largest tent was the one from where the regiment was coordinated. Lieutenant Colonel O'Neill was looking outside to see his tanks under the heavy rain.

"Damn heavy rain we got here and it came out of nowhere. If it keeps raining like this for two more days we'll be in mud up to our necks." Lt-Col O'Neill noted on the weather.

"I hope we don't suffer the same fate as the Germans in 1941 in Russia. Mud bogged them down and winter froze them to death." were Captain Reed's concerns. Reed was in charge of the tank battalion within the regiment. 1st Armored has one tank battalion and one infantry battalion with integrated logistics.

"Sir, should I request equipment for cold weather?" Captain Snow, commander of the infantry battalion, asked his CO.

O'Neill: "Yes, send Gen Hazama this request and tell him that we need to have clothes for very cold weather in stock at Alnus to be issued to every soldier of the Special Region Joint Task Force. He seems very capable and should take care of that."

Snow: "Yes, sir." replied before proceeding to write a message for HQ and sent it via radio.

O'Neill: "Cpt. Snow, put everyone on alert. I want every guard to be on the lookout. This is perfect weather for then to launch an attack without being detected. Cpt. Reed, get ready for combat. You will take the tanks out and flex some muscles at Bravil."

Reed: "What?"

O'Neill: "Go roar your engines and do some stunts at the city outskirts. Intimidation. Strange steel beasts come with the heavy rain, like a force of nature."

Reed: "As you say, sir." his subordinate conformed with the order. _"This guy is fucking nuts, sending us for this kind of shit…"_

* * *

 **Italica, Southern Gateway**

D-Day + 35 days, 1200 hours

Grey clouds covered the sky. It looked like it will rain soon. Inside the walls of Italica a column of vehicles was preparing to leave. RCT3 members were making last checkups before embarking on the short journey to Alnus. Tuka and Rory were in the light truck; Lelei, Pina and Bozes were in Itami's Humvee. There was the LAV and an extra Humvee for Alistair. He was guarded by two British MPs armed with the M4, M1911, tactical vest and helmet and the black knee and elbow pads. There was the driver too. Pina and Bozes were nervous when they first stepped inside the vehicles but relaxed when they made themselves confortable inside.

Pina: "Grey, take care of everyone! Remember to stay out of trouble."

Itami: "Everything good?"

Pops: "Everything good to go, sir."

Itami: "Then let's go. Start the engines."

Last Japanese soldiers got on the vehicles. The convoy left Italica with the destination for Alnus Base. Not much after they have left, the convoy met the Italian soldiers making their way towards Italica in preparation for the upcoming offensive through the Duma Mountains. The first one to see them was Itami.

Itami: "Is that the Italian flag?"

Kurata: "Yes, sir, it is."

Pina and Bozes looked through the windows to see what was passing by them on the road. M113 APCs with soldiers riding on them, IVECO military trucks packed with more soldiers and supplies, ammo, food, fuel, materials. The lead APC was proudly flying the green, white and red flag of Italy. Itami's men and the Italians were saluting each other as the two columns passed by in different directions on the Dessria highway.

Bozes asked with a shocked tone: "Who are they? Why are they going to Italica?"

Itami: "They are Italian soldiers from the country called Italy. Other friends."

Pina: "Why are they going to Italica?"

Itami: "Princess, you forget we are fighting a war right now." The 33 year old officer spoke and let the words sink in.

 **Pina's POV**

They are going towards Italica. What is this that I am feeling right now? Fear? Despair? Anxiety? What is this… Just look at them, cheering and greeting each other as they pass by. These men are going to war, to destroy the Empire. I must do something as soon as possible to buy time. Erik, I hope you are safe and on your way to the capital.

I must say, their carts are very confortable to ride. They are quick too. I think they called them… cars. Traveling in these cars almost makes you forget about everything that worries you. If it wasn't for the dark clouds and the rain that started falling, the trip to Alnus would have been really pleasant. And if not for this mage girl, Lelei… she had this worried look since we left Italica. Her expressionless face showed worry. I asked her what's wrong, getting tired of seeing her like that.

Lelei: "There is something wrong. Someone is using powerful magic in this area. I can feel it."

What the girl just said picked Itami's curiosity.

Itami: "What is it, Lelei?"

I looked outside again but I couldn't see anything. Thunder and lightning filled the sky and the air. A heavy fog blanketed our carts. And then… it happened.

 **Alistair's POV**

I was exchanging looks with my two guards. They are two rookies, young and probably with zero combat experience. The Special Region must have been their first time fighting for real. Two privates and the driver a sergeant. Well, I should have been dead a long time ago…maybe the Court will pronounce capital sentence. I'm sorry, sis'. I fucked up again.

What are we, humans? Why are we such irrational animals? We go to extremes for nothing sometimes. The closest thing to demons is humanity. Maybe I should have studied psychology. Only humans would go as far as sheltering monsters because they have a right to life. Do they? After all the lives they took? Oh, you abyss…why are you so welcoming sometimes?

Eh? What's with that fog all of a sudden? I couldn't see shit. I screamed "Wha… what the fuck!?" and then darkness. An impact…and darkness. Next thing I knew when I woke up was the cold, the dead soldier to my right and the wounded one in front of me.

* * *

 **AN:** Chapter 9 – Chess  & Generals is here. Sorry for taking longer than expected, I was out of ideas and very sleepy these few days. Well deserved rest after finals.

 **The Tundra Fox:** Sorry :D

 **NCWriting:** Won't take long.

 **MODERN ARMED FORCES:** Right here, waiting to deliver freedom. They ain't in a hurry because then they deliver it poorly.

 **Wardog1:** I don't think there will be other Asian countries, I thought of the story with these countries but everything is subject to change because I come up with the story as I go along.

 **Artyom:** We will have some action with the Italians

 **the renegade soldier:** thank you very much :D I hope you will read this story all the way to the end of it.


	10. Ch 10 - Slaying the Dreamer

**Chapter 10: Slaying the Dreamer**

* * *

 **Unknown area**

D-Day + 35 days, dusk

 **Alistair's POV**

 _What the hell just happened? Why's it so cold? I'm freezing here… What happened here? Huh? These two have blood on their faces!_

"Private, wake up. Boy, wake up!" _no use. He is probably dead. Fuck! How long have we been in this state? Huh…this one to my front is still breathing, heavily but breathing._ "Lad, wake up! What happened here?"

 _He barely spoke, more like a whisper:_ "It hurts… it hurts and it burns. My head, it will blow up from the pain, sir…"

"You'll be fine. Can you move your head?

"No… it hurts so bad. Sir, I'm freezing here."

"What is your name, lad?"

"Mack… sir. Private… Johannes…. Mack."

 _I had a good look around. There was snow outside. We were in a forest. A snowy forest with large trees. The driver was not there, door open. The Humvee was wrecked. Somehow this guy managed to drive into a fucking tree._

"What happened here, Mack?"

"I don't know. All nice and good until that damn fog. Then…" _he could barely speak_ "then we hit the tree. Alex died right next to you. Think he softened your impact. You must leave, Lt. Leave before one of those creatures finds you."

"What are you talking about?"

"Right after the impact… I fell unconscious. When I woke up I heard a strange scream, an animal roaring just outside. I have never seen such creatures… Fuck this world and this expedition. Will get us all killed…"

"What did it look like? And where is the driver?"

"He went outside to see what was going on. He should be nearby. His leg… his leg is broken from the impact with the tree. Sir… what is going on?"

"Hell if I know. I don't like this situation either."

"Get out of here, Lt. Save yourself. Go before that thing comes back."

"What comes back?" _I asked the young man. But he was falling asleep, slowly passing out._ "Come on, Mack, don't sleep yet!"

"Sorry, sir. I am very tired. I find it hard to speak. It was strange, something like a jellyfish with teeth and tentacles and wings. It was able to tear those two holes in the roof in an instant…"

"Did that thing snatch the sergeant?"

"No. He put a few bullets into it. Go look for him and get the keys to take down your handcuffs."

"What?"

"If you want… to survive... you must take those off."

"Don't pass out on me, Mack. I'll be back."

 _I helped myself stand on my feet. Alex, the one to my right died in an instant. Looks like his neck snapped and suffered other injuries to the head._ "Stay awake, lad. I will get you out of here." _were my words for Mack before kicking the door and get out of the vehicle. The sergeant was not far from the scene, he was lying face down in the snow in a pool of blood. I had a hope of him being alive… but that hope turned to dust when I noticed a hole in his chest. A hole large enough for my hand to force its way through. I cursed the shitty situation I've found myself in. I was feeling colder and colder in this damn dark forest. I turned the NCO over to search his pockets for the keys. Man died with his eyes open… Fuck, it is all over again… like that one time in Iraq when fighting those ISIS bastards. The fact that he had blood stains on his clothes did not help. Come on…where the fuck are those keys?_

"Dammit!" _I let a scream in frustration. I'm feeling so cold my fingers are going numb. I must find a heat source, maybe a fire. But first…the hands. Maybe a bullet..? No, the cuffs are thick steel, it could ricochet and injure me._ "Fuck! Frak it!"

 _I am not going to die in this damn place!_

 **End of POV**

Alistair had a good look around. In the fading daylight he could distinguish the thick forest and a big cliff to the east. He didn't know where the cardinal points were, for him it was to the rear of the vehicle that found itself dead in a pine tree. The 42 year old British officer made his way to the Humvee. He had a good look where the driver should be. "Damn bastard, here you are." he said when he spotted the key. It was with the startup button of the car. He turned backwards to be able to grab it and finally managed to catch it after what looked like a comedy number.

"Hey, Mack! You still up?"

"Barely…" the young man replied in a loud whisper.

"Help me with these. Here's the key."

Alistair handed him the key. Because Mack could not move his head resting on the vehicle's wall, Alistair has to turn with his back and lower his hands to Mack's left hand in which he held the key.

"If you were my Melinda… I'd die happy." Mack smiled as he set his prisoner free.

"Believe me, I'd like a girl's warmth and comfort too. Thanks. Can you move?"

Mack wanted to shook his head. "I can't move… I don't feel much, only my left arm but it is slowly going numb. Ah… I never thought I'd die in such a lame way…"

"You ain't going to die, private!"

"Spare me, Lt., for I know too well that I will die. Is good that I won't feel much. Hypothermia will get me if not the injury to my head. Something's fucked up inside. It hurts and burns…"

"Listen, I am going to look for some firewood to keep us warm. Don't you dare give up as long as you breathe!"

" Go ahead. I will tell you after you're back…"

"Take care. Here, take this M1911 and shoot anything that isn't me. I'll have this guy's…"

"Alex…"

"Alex's M4 to defend myself with. Did you try by chance to get in touch with any unit with the radio?"

"The sergeant tried… nobody replied. We are out of range."

"Bloody hell!"

"Bloody… bloody indeed."

"Stay alive. I'll be back as soon as I can."

So, the condemned Lieutenant Alistair left the Humvee and started looking around for firewood.

* * *

 **Special Region, Dessria highway**

Everyone fell unconscious after the loud thunder and the fog. The first to wake up was Lelei who woke up everyone else.

Itami: "What the hell just happened?"

Kurata: "Uh… ugh! I fell asleep while driving!"

Itami: "Looks like everyone fell asleep. Kurata… you dumb fool…" Itami said as he opened the door, reached for his gun and wanted to step out but decided it was better not to. "You bogged us down in heavy mud…"

Kurata: "Not my fault, Itami-san!"

Itami: "Kurokawa, Lelei, Princess, Miss Bozes, are you alright?"

Pina and Bozes just woke up. "Yeah… I think I am."

Kurokawa: "I'm good."

Lelei: "Yes. Itami, how long has it been?"

Itami had a look at his watch. He was shocked when he saw that it indicated 7pm. Lelei: "Something happened… something not good."

Itami through his radio to the other vehicles: "Come in, everyone. I want a sitrep."

"Light truck… all good. Erwin, Rory and Tuka and everyone else is fine."

"LAV crew doing well. Sir, the British Humvee is missing!"

"What!? Are they nowhere to be seen?"

"No, I see a huge black spot where they were supposed to be, just behind us."

"Damn it! Uhm… Can you guys pull us out of this mud? The tires are deep in the mud and stuck."

"LAV will give it a try. Throwing a hook, please fix it on the vehicle."

Katsumoto threw a hook at Itami's vehicle. The Lt reached out for it, it fell in the mud, and fixed it to the rear of their vehicle. With effort, the LAV pulled the Humvee out and put it back on road. Rain started to fall again.

"Thank you, guys. Now, let's look for Lt. Alistair and the other three. Please start searching around while I report to HQ." Itami instructed everyone.

Pina was nervous. She exchanged looks with Lelei and Bozes before asking Itami what's going on. "We don't know yet, Princess. Please keep your calm, everything will be fine." He replied before proceeding to change frequencies. "This is RCT3 actual to HQ, come in Alnus."

A short ccccchhhhh sound could be heard before a voice spoke. "Alnus to RCT3 actual, what happened? You are 5 hours late. A search and rescue party has been sent to look for you."

"RCT3 actual here, I don't know either. Nobody knows. Some weird weather caught us off guard. Lt Alistair's Humvee disappeared and all that is left of them is a huge black spot on the road. My men are searching the surroundings. Heavy rain started, a dense fog and then we were all out cold. Lelei blames all this on magic."

"What do you mean, Itami!? You let that British officer get away on purpose!"

"I didn't! Stop the nonsense and tell the S&R to hurry up. We need to find them. All four plus the vehicle are missing. And send a car to pick the girls, they must make it to base asap."

The voices changed on the radio. Now it was Hazama on the other line. "Lt. Itami! Return right now with everyone to Alnus. The S&R will take care of the rest. I want a report immediately! Nothing vanishes in thin air!"

"Y-Yes sir!" he replied with a sad voice. Itami threw the radio into the windshield and muttered something for himself. He then went outside and had good look around. Fields and fields… he was nowhere to be seen. "Damn it! Everyone, listen up! Get back in your vehicles, we are going back to Alnus. General Hazama's orders. A S&R team will look for them."

Itami waited for everyone to get inside the cars, he stood outside his Humvee. He had a good look around and one more at the dark spot on the ground. Everyone stared at him as he paused deep in thought before speaking. "Kurata, take the girls back to Alnus. Pops, you have command. Return to base. I will come later. Don't tell them via radio."

Kuwahara: "What are you doing, Lt?"

Itami: "I'm looking for my friend. Now get going. That's an order."

Kuwahara: "Aye, sir! Please take care of yourself."

Itami stood there in the rain, not moving a finger as the convoy slowly picked up speed. "Right!" was his only word he spoke before feeling something sharp slowly thrusting in his back. He turned around slowly to see what it was. "RORY!?"

"What? Did you think you'd be alone here?"

* * *

 **Italica, Combat Unit** _ **Europa**_ **HQ**

D-Day + 35 days, 8pm

Dietrich: "What do you mean he disappeared!? … Yes, I'm sorry, sir. … What of it? … Yes, they are here. They arrived at 3pm, I think. … No. Should we? … Copy that. … What about my request for patrols? … Thank you, General. Good evening." the German colonel wished Hazama before putting down the radio headphones. Then, Dietrich held his head in his palms. He was obviously frustrated by something. He was like this for a full minute before fixing the commander of the Italian contingent with his eyes. All four officers were gathered in the HQ.

Dante: "What is it, Col?"

Dietrich: "Say, Major Dante, did you encounter RCT3 on your way here?"

Dante: "Yes. My men and his greeted each other and high fived while passing by."

Dietrich: "Did you notice anything strange? How many vehicles were there?"

Dante: "Three Japanese and a British Humvee. That makes four."

Oliver: "What happened?"

Dietrich: "The British car went missing."

Robert, the Lt-Col of the British contingent, jumped off his seat: "What do you mean it went missing?"

Dietrich: "I don't know, dammit!"

Robert: "Things don't disappear in thin air!"

Dietrich: "I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED! It was the general on the line. RCT3 said that a heavy fog rolled in with the heavy rain and then a thunder! Then everyone was KO for a few hours."

Dante: "Now that you mention it, sir, there was a dense fog. We had to reduce our speed to avoid accidents. And we heard a thunder too. But didn't know it was this serious."

Oliver: "What is going on?"

Robert: "I want to know the same thing. Four of my men are missing! We must do something."

Dante: "Did Alnus say anything else?"

Dietrich: "A S&R party was sent… Scheiße! I bet Itami had something to do with this!"

Oliver: "He didn't look like that kind of a guy."

Dietrich: "He and Lt Alistair share a friendly relationship. Knowing he was going to be trialed and probably end up bad …he must have come up with a shit ass plan!"

Dante: "Colonel, calm down. We know nothing yet."

Dietrich: "What kind of world is this, gentlemen? General Hazama also mentioned that that girl Lelei… she is studying magic. Apparently she felt something's wrong before they left Italica."

Robert: "So, I'm supposed to believe that a magic trick made four British soldiers vanish into thin air? THAT'S BULLSHIT!"

Dietrich spoke this time with a grim voice: "Mind your manners… Lt-Col Robert!"

Oliver: "Please excuse our friend here, Colonel. You must understand his situation."

Dietrich: "Let's keep a clear head and think this through…"

Dante: "Considering everything so far, it might have been a magic trick. I mean…just look at this world. Elves, wolf people, dragons, magic… If the mage student said that it was magic…then it must have been."

Robert: "How can there be such a thing as magic?"

Dietrich: "Lt-Col Robert, do you believe in God?"

Robert: "Yes, sir."

Dietrich: "Why?"

Robert: "Because he's real…"

Dietrich: "Are you serious, Lt-Col?"

Robert: "What am I supposed to say?"

Dietrich: "There is no proof for God's existence but you believe in him. Unless he spoke to you… then you are a crazy person. And still… nobody would believe you."

Oliver: "We get the point, sir. No need to roast him." he spoke while mischievously smiling to Robert.

Robert: "Oy, you frakin' bastard!"

Oliver: "Don't get fired up. Is just a joke, not a penis, don't take it so hard."

Dietrich could not believe his ears. Was a high ranking officer like Oliver actually speaking about such things? "Lt-Col Oliver…"

Oliver: "I'm sorry, colonel. I didn't mean it. Not that hard" he made sure to switch his eyes back to Robert when he said 'hard'.

Dante: "Alright, gentlemen. Calm down. Colonel, is there anything else that requires our attention?"

Dietrich leaned on the table with the map, hands crossed. "Not really. You are dismissed. Please attend to your men and make sure night guard is set up."

"Yes, sir." they all said in a choir.

Dietrich: "Also make ready to enter combat within a week or two. The Japanese brigade will be on its way here when the rain stops. Then we'll wait a while longer for the mud to harden. Last thing we need is to get bogged down in heavy mud with our tanks and other vehicles."

Dante: "Did the general say that?"

Dietrich: "Yes. Major, I heard your men were trained to fight in the mountains."

Dante: "Yes, that is right. Most of the Italian army is."

Dietrich: "The Italian soldiers are a vital asset for our offensive through the Duma Mountains." _" I fear this campaign won't be as easy as initially expected."_

* * *

 **Unknown area**

Alistair made it back to the Humvee with a decent amount of firewood he could collect. He took out the little fuel left in the tank and used it to light the fire. He made it in the back of the Humvee, opened the rear a bit to let smoke out but not too much so the wind doesn't blow all the warm air. Now they could sit comfortably.

Alistair: "Did you guys pack anything to eat?"

Mack: "Not really… we only have water."

"Damn. We could use something to eat right now."

"You could use…"

"You starting to piss me off with your negative attitude, lad."

"So what..? Is it that hard for…for you to understand that I can barely do a thing? My left hand is not responding anymore. I can barely speak. I'll probably be dead by morning. Please take my clothing and weapons and get out of here. You don't have to die here, sir."

"Why the fuck are you even so at terms with dying?"

"That is why I joined the army. Well… it… it started a long time ago… when I was 14. Is a rather long story."

"Do we have anything else to do?"

"No… You can laugh at me in the end…I don't care. I will tell you as it is."

"Why would I laugh?"

"I find it amusing sometimes. I joined the British Army because… I wanted to die one day."

"What kind of idiot are you?"

"Hear me out. I was a coward. And I… I still am. I can't do it myself… so… I wanted someone else to do it for… me."

"Mack, how old are you?"

"22, sir."

"That means 8 years. Well, that will make for an interesting story. What happened when you were 14?"

"At 14 I realized the world is a shit place, sir. I don't know how it exactly happened. I used to be the awkward nerd kid when it came to astronomy, history and guns. I had a hard time with the girls. Few friends… you know, that kind of kid. High school was a messy place when it came to socialize but at least my grades were good."

"Go on…"

"Only my soul knows what I was like before. Everybody knew Mack who acted nice, helped his friends and seemed happy in general. But only when I was alone in my room …I was myself. Something dark grew within me… something that pushed me to extreme things in my mind, in my instincts… horrible things. My parents and siblings still don't know who I really am. They know the Mack who does foolish things and is wasting time whenever he can."

"How many siblings do you have?"

"A sister and a brother, both older than me. Do you have siblings, Lt?"

"Aye, that I do. A younger sister. She moved in with her husband just across my parents' house and have a baby together."

"I'm happy for you and them."

"What is your relationship with your siblings?"

"Not a special one. I mean… we look for each other but…sometimes it feels like something is missing. At least for me. Do you know what Aristotle said about madness?"

" _No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness._ "

"Aye! Now…I don't think of myself as a great mind. I certainly am not, compared to others… but I was always above trivial matters. I looked above the carnal desires and thoughts one in his teenage years would have. I looked past money. I think I was an idealist of sorts, a dreamer."

"Small minds discuss people. Regular minds talk about events. And the big minds talk about ideas."

"That may be the only way I can be categorized as a genius of sorts. I developed this arrogance… Hahah" Mack started laughing but blood came out of his mouth when he coughed. "Hah! Peculiar beings, aren't we? And then everything started going sour inside me. More …and more. I felt nothing at one point. Nothing. Not joy, not anger… simply nothing. I found the night sky so relaxing… _I know nothing with certainty but the night sky makes me dream._ "

"Why the hell would a young man like you walk that road?"

"Don't know, told you. It happened. Then I met her… Melinda. We met through a friend of mine. He wanted to make it up to her, I don't actually know the details of their relationship. You see… I was the courier for a short time between the two. Then they finally decided to split up for good. I kept in touch with her, she seemed like an interesting person. And then I fell for her… and she for me."

"Hahaha! Everyone has a chance, ey?"

"That is up to everyone to decide for itself. We were all nice for two years. Then… she moved out of town and didn't bother to write back anything. Not even a letter… I forgot laughter but I learned to laugh again from her. You know …for a kid in his late teens to be rise higher than the vast majority of humans and find solitude… It pushed me above the edge and I fell deeper into the darkness and madness flowered. Of course I maintained a façade of sanity… but below this mask, sir, it was just insanity."

"What do you mean? You seem a rather sane person."

"That because I managed to meld it in with my reason and compassion. But it was still insanity, madness. What I was thinking and imagining would make any person go crazy. I started to take a liking to gore and fucked up things even more than before. I think that it may have been born of my sympathy towards mankind. I am such a collection of paradoxes… Even in my final moments I can't even think of anything. Not my buddies, not my family… not Melinda."

"The fact that you are so fixed on dying does not help."

"Say, Lt… what is the purpose of living in a world where everyone lives in lies and is bothered by the truth? This is what Earth has become. I think that my only regret is the fact that I don't get the chance to explore the stars as I wanted when I was younger. For a monster I've been I am having a pleasant end." Mack spoke and then silence fell, both listening to the cracking of the fire. "Sir, will you do something for me if you get out of here?"

"Anything."

"Reach for the pocket on my chest. There should be a small notebook and a pen I always keep on me. Please, write something for me. And when you get home… send it to my family? You should get the details from the Army. Ask them to bury it under the apple tree in the garden after they read it and whatever else they well please to do with what is written."

Alistair reached for his pocket and, indeed, found a small notebook, 5x8cm, and a pen.

"What is that you want to write for them?"

Mack looked through a hole in the roof. As if it was destiny's hand, a small hole in the clouds appeared and he could see the stars once more.

"I don't know if they will understand much of it but all I want is for this notebook to be put to rest where I used to spend my nights. Write this little poetry, please." Mack spoke, still watching the lonely star among the clouds. After every verse he paused for a second.

"I shall sit in black light,

Above thy clouds, away from sight,

Where the winds unhindered blow,

Where the few beacons glow,

Where solitude is a plight

And thoughts – the sweet night."

"This is rather an interesting choice of words."

"Second entry like this:

I have held on to the teachings of solitude for so long. But some days the quiet refuses to talk. Some days even silence has no words to say. And one day when all of this is over and this body, this heart and all its desires are reduced to ash, will you be able to sift through the parts you liked and the ones you didn't…and keep the ones you adored and throw away what you hated?"

"I will do my best to get them home, lad. I promise." Alistair spoke as he put the pen and notebook in his own pocket. He had a look at Mack, his eyes stopped moving. "Oy, Mack! You still up?" no response. "Mack! Come on…" tears formed in its eyes. "…don't go, boy…"

Alistair hugged Mack's body and shed tears. Somewhere else, in Italica's fields, someone else was shedding a few tears in someone else's warm embrace.

* * *

 **AN:** Chapter 10: Slaying the Dreamer is here. Sorry for the less action packed chapter, but I felt like I had to write this part too :D Will keep you updated with new chapters when I can. Next in GATE: A World of Shame  & Glory: RCT3 members go trough the gate and new conflicts take shape in the Imperial Capital. Also, to answer some of the latest reviews.

 **THERE WON'T BE NUKES!** Come on guys, if I nuke then...what is left to do? I don't want to take that path. But I will try to make it interesting, magic VS science.

 **the renegade soldier:** once more, I thank you for your reviews, they are very important to me and i hope you are doing well too :D I won't put in mechs or that sort of thing but advanced weaponry has a nice chance of making it in the following chapters; do keep in mind i mostly come up with the story as i write it. I will do more research for the next chapters about auxilia units and might take longer to post new chapters after the crew returns to the Special Region. Here is Ch 10 so enjoy ^_^

 **AlxkendBlader:** There's more trouble on the way :)


	11. Ch 11 - Know Thy Enemy

**Chapter 11: Know Thy Enemy**

* * *

 **Special Region, Dessria road**

D-Day + 35 days

The cold night took possession of the wet fields under the rain. Down the road a figure was walking. It held someone in hands, the figure was carrying someone. It was Rory holding a collapsed Itami from the cold rain and desperation of losing one of his friends. They were met by the S&R on the road who were sent to look for the missing British soldiers and their vehicle. A medic took care of Itami to make sure he didn't succumb to the cold rain of the night and sent both of them to Alnus.

* * *

 **Alnus Base, Hazama's office**

D-Day + 36 days

Hazama: "Listen, Itami! Disobeying orders is a serious offense. But considering your intentions and the context… I'm willing to let it go this time."

Itami: "Thank you, sir. Did the guys find anything?"

"If you mean the S&R party, no. They haven't found anything yet. It's like they vanished from that spot. Tell me, Itami… do you believe in magic?"

"Yes, sir. At least in this world."

Hazama crossed his hands and looked through the window outside before speaking again. "I really hope this is not something you came up with, with Lelei's help, to save him. It will mean more trouble."

"We have nothing to do with this. I wouldn't risk anyone's life but mine for something that I do. Besides, Kuribayashi would ruin everything, she kinda hates me for who I am. General, are you thinking that bad of me?"

"You are lazy but you seem to be a good man. Yet I don't fully trust you when it comes to this incident. Have you spoken to the other two?"

"If you refer to Carter and Lewis, no. I was going to drop the news this morning. What about Sgt Jackson? Why wasn't he with us?"

"He didn't really do anything that would break the rules. So I had him interviewed by Dietrich's men and sent everything here. He will resume duty with Pvt Carter and Pvt Lewis after they recover and feel like going on missions again. And I won't assign another British officer to oversee them. I don't what to break any balance in you. Alistair is your friend and it would suck to have someone else stuck with you in his place so soon."

"T-Thank you, sir! I have a question. When will we go through the gate?"

"Tomorrow morning, 0900 hours. I trust you will not let the politicians play their tricks in our loss."

"What do you mean, General?"

"There is a woman who would love to see our guts spilled and will do everything she can at the meeting to see this happen. She will try to use the casualties among the civilians as a moral sword and shield for her purpose. There will be representatives from the UN too. Some people are even supporting the idea of sending in reporters and observers. I don't mind them as long as they don't get in our way."

"Observers? Are they impartial?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe they want to see the offensive through the Dumas. But I really hope that this will end at the negotiation table and not in the field. I've already sent out the Japanese forces to support this operation, a 3,000 strong brigade. You are dismissed, Lt. Make ready for tomorrow." Hazama said as he slowly walked towards his subordinate and patted him on his back. Itami saluted and left Hazama's office. Outside he came face to face with Inigo, Duran's wolf man bodyguard.

Itami spoke first, surprised to see him here: "Ah… Ah! You are that guy we met on our way to Alnus some days go… What was your name? I forgot it, sorry!"

Inigo: "Inigo."

"Ah, right! Sorry! What are you doing here?"

"Your commander wanted to see me."

"What for?"

Inigo looked at Itami with an eyebrow raised. "If you don't know yet, then it might be better not to know until you are told by your commander." _'Damn, at this rate everyone will know about the king.'_

"Right… Well, see you around, Inigo. Bye!" Itami spoke as he turned around and shortly waved goodbye.

' _Huh. Weird man.'_ Inigo thought to himself before knocking at the door.

* * *

 **Alnus Base, Infirmary**

In the large room for those who are recovering were many empty beds. Very few were used because of few patients. Lewis was feeling better and was allowed to leave, only condition he had to conform with were regular visits for treatment of the burns. It was only Carter left with a few sick soldiers from the cold. King Duran was kept in a separate room. The British woman was still sleepy when Itami came to see her despite the fact she was resting for 9 days already. Carter tried to stand up a bit.

Itami: "At ease, Pvt Carter. Don't even dare try to stand up. How are you feeling?"

Itami took a seat near Carter's bed.

Carter: "Tired. I seem to sleep a lot recently."

"How's your wound doing?"

"It is healing quickly. No major damage to my nervous system or vascular system. I'll be up in two weeks probably."

"I… I don't know if you should get back in action that soon. I can speak with the higher-ups and have you assigned to do something else."

"What else is there to do, sir? I heard they formed Combat Unit _Europa_ and stationed it at Italica."

"We're building a small fort outside the walls. You can be assigned to guard duty in Italica or inside the fort. Won't be that much effort."

"What's the reason? So far we haven't done anything spectacular besides fighting that damn dragon."

"You say it like it was child's play, you know? We will leave tomorrow to report back home. Colonel Dietrich told me that this would be a week long leave. Then we're going to check the Romaria Mountains."

"Hope I'm not being rude for asking this out of the blue, but… where is Lt Alistair?"

Itami let his head down with an empty look in his eyes. "You see… after Italica… Dietrich had him arrested for shooting those two Imperials when evacuating Coda. They were actually prisoners and it was a violation of the rules. He was going to be trialed back home and punished."

"WHAT!?" Carter almost jumped.

"This is where it gets worse. He was in a Humvee with us returning to Alnus yesterday when he went missing. He, the three other British soldiers and the vehicle, gone."

"What do you mean by gone?"

"Lelei said that magic was responsible. Powerful magic. We had heavy fog and then a loud thunder and we went KO and their vehicle vanished as if it was nothing but a projection."

"We need to look for them! Now!"

"Calm down. A S&R party is doing its best. I've looked for them yesterday evening all I could. Nothing… nothing yet. They just disappeared. I hope it was teleportation and nothing more serious."

"Lelei is that girl with the blue hair, right?"

"Yes. She's an aspiring mage. She promised us that she will look into it with Master Kato after we return."

Carter was heavily affected by the news. She fell on her back in the bed as if she was lifeless.

"We will do everything we can. I won't rest until I find him. I promise. You stay here and heal your wound. I'll keep you updated."

"Lt Itami, I want to be a member of RCT3 after I get out of here. I don't want any guard duty. Tell me, will we look for him?"

"I won't neglect our missions. But we'll look for him wherever our job takes us. If there is anything I can help you, me or Erwin, let us know. I'll…go let everyone know we are leaving tomorrow through the gate. Take care."

* * *

 **Alnus Base, Hazama's office**

General Hazama and Inigo were sitting across a glass table from each other.

Hazama: "Thank you for being able to come here, Inigo."

Inigo: "What is the matter, General?"

"You helped us with information before on your own will and I would like to ask you to help us again."

"Sure…"

"As you know, there are ongoing hostilities right now between us and every other nation around here."

"You are wrong. You are at war only with the Empire. The others were just tricked into this situation and went home as soon as it was obvious."

Hazama's curiosity kicked in. "What? Please explain."

Inigo paused for a moment. _'I can't afford to say anything that would jeopardize my liege's life. But he will surely ask me how I know all this… it can't be helped.'_ Inigo looked the general in the eyes before opening his mouth to take in more air and put every word in place in his mind. "After you arrived here the Imperial Army engaged you in battle, right?" Hazama nodded to his question. "And then, after their defeat, Molt Sol Augustus asked his vassal states to send their armies to fight the enemy who is invading the world. We were sent in there and butchered. They didn't tell us anything about how we should approach you in battle. We were just sent to die so the Empire can rest well knowing its neighbors don't have the power to threaten them anymore after the last crushing defeats. But my liege, King Duran of the Elbe Kingdom, smelled there was something foul at play in the second day of combat. We were able to preserve a good amount of our troops thanks to his instincts."

"You fought here?"

"Yes. I guess there is little point in keeping this a secret. The crippled man we brought with us is King Duran. He is on the run. We fear assassins will try to end his life to silence him and remove the threat he represents because of his knowledge of this betrayal. Your soldiers offered us help in treating the king's wounds and we thought that it would be a good idea to come here. This is the last place where Molt would search for us. And my king received proper treatment from your doctors. For that… I thank you!"

"The pleasure to help is ours. What other nations are there? You mentioned only Elbe but there are more."

"The other nations who sent their armies here are the Kingdom of Alguna, League Principality and the Kingdom of Mudwan."

"How are they feeling about this situation?"

"I don't know about the others. I can only guess they feel like us. It is very early to say this, you have to talk to my lord to be sure…but …we would like to join you and turn our backs to this foul Empire."

Hazama rubs his chin as he listens to his guest. He finds the situation very interesting indeed. "If what you say is true then I can only be happy and talk to King Duran. If things go well then we can have a treaty signed with Elbe and the other kingdoms."

"You surprise me with your answer. I was expecting you to find this a good opportunity to strike and conquer the kingdoms."

"Ha ha ha ha! No no no, good man. We are not like that. If possible we prefer to take the peaceful way. War brings you nowhere. What good would it bring to us and to the people here? The countries beyond the gate and yours would benefit greatly if we can agree upon a trade treaty and establish diplomatic relations. "

"How many countries are beyond?"

"I believe their number is above 200. 206 if I'm not mistaken."

Inigo couldn't help but stare with his jaw low at the given number. "That… is a lot of nations."

"Right here in this world is only us – Japan and some of our friends: Great Britain, United States of America, Germany, Italy and Canada. The flags outside represent the countries I enumerated. But there is something else I wanted to know. Can't deny the fact that getting side tracked a little proved useful, but I wanted to know how the Empire's military works. It is important for us in dealing further on with them."

"Their army is composed of many legions. Each legion consists of 15,000 – 20,000 soldiers at full strength. Their legions are formed of other smaller units such as cohorts. The generals command one or more legions while the emperor has the supreme authority when it comes to military matters. Most of the time he will listen to his generals and let them do their job."

"As expected…the same style as the Romans back in the days. Do they employ warriors from the conquered lands?"

"Yes, they do this. Most of the conquered provinces will enlist its troops into the regular legions. Still, there are out there people who come together into auxiliary legions and fight using the advantages they possess, advantages and tactics granted to them from their own culture. Those legions are smaller and come under the command of a standard legion's general as support troops. The most frequent auxiliary troops you will meet are the goblins and orcs. They even train trolls for battle and use them in combat."

"Are there any notable warrior groups we should be looking out for?"

"The fiercest of them all are the Warrior Bunnies. Thankfully, they don't lend their skill as fighters to the Empire or anyone else but themselves. They are mostly women but they fight with a courage and bravery and blood thirst above any other race's. Then there would be the archers of the desert of Knappnai – masters in archery, horse riding and ambushes in mountains. The Empire is known to employ the skill of the Seth Lake tribes – their terrain is the woods, camouflage is their ace and the axe fighting their grace. No great warrior bands hail from the regions of the snowy mountains to the northernmost part. They are still not to be underestimated, they know winter and cold better than anyone and can use it to their advantage when facing an enemy army." Hazama took notes of everything he said. "But watch out for the orcs in the mountains of Knappnai, you really don't want to entertain their bloodlust. They keep to themselves most of the time so you should not find them an issue."

Hazama nodded to his words as he took note of everything. He then went ahead to thank Inigo for his help. "Thank you, Inigo. Please go inform King Duran that someone will come to see him. I must get in touch with my superiors before starting negotiations of any kind with a country. Your help is most appreciated."

"Make sure to make the Empire pay for all their deeds. Who knows, maybe I join you in the field." Inigo spoke before leaving the room.

* * *

 **Sadera, Senate**

It was another busy day in the Senate building with senators arguing over the recent events. The most debated topic is the one of continuing the war or calling for peace with the invaders after recently arrived news about the enemy's move. Emperor Molt Sol Augustus was sitting on his throne overlooking the senators. At one point, from the crowd, Adranos rose up and came forth to take the word. It took him two minutes to calm everyone down before speaking.

Adranos: "Senators! What are we doing? Are we going to sit here and keep arguing while the enemy is making its moves against us? Or are we going to take action?"

"Our armies have been destroyed at Alnus!"

"What moves!? They haven't moved from Alnus!"

Adranos: "Please! Don't be so naïve! They have already cut off Appia highway between Italica and Bravil. The truth is that I am not here to take side in the arguing. I desire peace above else. Most of you have never been to war, have never set foot in a military unit. Yet you keep saying that war is the only way."

"Do you want to be jailed like that general, Adranos?" Molt asked a bit upset on his attitude.

"No, my lord. I want you to do what is right for the Empire and its people. The real reason for me taking the word is to ask you to allow our generals to take their legions and march on the Duma Mountains."

"What is it that you suggest, lord Adranos?"

"Right now General Titus with Legate Kaeso and Tullius are marching towards the Romaria Mountains in an attempt to defend the mountain range and hit the enemy in the rear if he has the chance."

"Who is he marching with? His legion was destroyed at Alnus!"

"I have given him command of my legion." The whole Senate shouted enraged at this man who brought such news. Who was he to take action on this scale without the approval of the senators and the emperor? "Please, let me speak! And he is not alone. General Tasius and Legate Caius are marching with their men to the Duma Mountains to hold the enemy's advance." Angry shouts filled the room again. "I am here today to ask you to ratify their actions! General Titus and Tasius are the brilliant military minds of the hour! They would not sit idle in their home or rotting in jail and wait for the enemy to come here until you decide on what to do. Brave men will die to buy you time, senators! Time to decide and take action! Fine men are going to die to patch up your mistake of sending an invading army through the gate and bringing the enemy army upon the Empire! I ask you to put aside your ego and approve their actions for the moment. What will your answer be?"

"Traitors! Send for them to return!"

"Jail them!"

"Listen to the man, he is right."

"Who does Titus think he is?"

"We should send reinforcements immediately!"

"Then the provinces will fall into lawlessness. We need soldiers to keep them under control!"

Everybody was arguing on what to do, with many condemning Titus and Tasius for taking action on their own while others approving their cunningness. Silence fell when hen Molt stood up.

Molt: "Senators! This man who spoke against you not long ago is taking up arms once more to defend the Empire."

Adranos: "He is doing this for the Empire and its people."

Molt: "And another great general joined him. I ask you to ratify their actions as soon as possible and send reinforcements to the front lines. He will be defending himself for not consulting us in this very room after he comes back. Let us do our best to support these two generals in this campaign."

Adranos: "I also ask you to send the battle mages to the front lines. They are the closest thing we have to match the enemy's power according to Titus himself."

"Lord Adranos, the mages won't go anywhere if the situation is not desperate!"

Adranos: "Dear senators, if you believe that you have the luxury of sitting back and keep fighting the enemy with our traditional tactics then you better resign from your post and leave someone more competent to do your job. The Empire has never seen more desperate circumstances and all you care about is to set back those who want to do right. Without the formidable power of our battle mages…this war is over. It may have been lost before it began. Let us not lose everything with it."

"He is right!" a voice from the last row of senators shouted.

Molt: "Senators, you know what to do. I trust your reason and give my approval to what lord Adranos requests. Send word to me with your decision." The emperor spoke before slowly stepping down the stairs and leaving the senators to their own. _'I must do something…'_

* * *

 **North of Imperial Capital, Row Stream**

General Titus decided that it would be more time efficient to use the Row stream which runs from the northern regions southwards until close to the capital, then it turns west and goes through the Romaria Mountains, south of Rondel and turns south again until it hits the sea/ocean to take its troops through the Romarias. You can cover more distance with a boat on a river than by foot. He gathered every boat he could and had his men build more from the trees nearby. He sent his cavalry ahead by foot. Some units had already left with Legate Kaeso to establish a spearhead and a base ahead of the main forces.

Titus: "Come on, men! Faster! We need to get there as soon as possible. Time is of the essence!" were his encouragements for his troops. He was interrupted by a soldier who came to report.

"My lord! A message from General Tasius! He reports that he passed through Arado and is marching his men on the Appia. He expects to reach the foot of the mountains in four days under forced march."

"Good. Write back to him and tell him not to overdo it. Let the men rest when they need it. Also tell him that I will be in the Romarias in two or three days if all is well."

"Yes, my lord!" the soldier rises and salutes before leaving.

' _Adranos, send us the help we need. We're counting on you.'_

* * *

 **Meanwhile somewhere in an unknown area**

Alistair woke up with the first light of the day. To say he had a good night's sleep would be very generous. Strange animal cries in the woods and the unknown took a toll in him.

' _Damn this forest. Could barely sleep. What kind of wildlife makes such terrible noises? I swear I could distinguish even voices in the distance… Now that the Sun is rising I can make sense of my bearings. Hmm, there is the Sun, so that is east. Huh? It is way to the right than I remember it… fuck! I'm somewhere in the north! Fuck! How far am I actually?'_

He had a good look inside at Mack's and Alex's body before thinking again. He reached for his pocket and brought out Mack's notebook. _'I'll bring it home, lad. I promise! But if I stay here I'll freeze and die or die of hunger and thirst. I should make my way south.'_

The British officer jumped inside the Humvee and started taking Alex's clothes off. _'Sorry, buddy. I will need these more than you do. An extra pair of clothing will keep me warm. And you won't be needing the guns and ammo either. I'm sorry… please don't come back haunting me.'_

After gearing up on what his comrades had with them, Alistair patted Mack's body on his shoulder before leaving the scene and heading into the woods. He followed a trail used by animals. This will bring him the opportunity to catch something to eat. His stomach is very angry on him at this moment. With his hopes high, Alistair begins his journey back home. Little does he know that he is in the frozen hell.

* * *

 **AN:** I really apologize for updating so late. I really had little inspiration on what to write. These few chapters will be a bit challenging for me but once I'm out of the gate and back in action, the action kicks in and I already know to write. But then there still are two or three chapters 'till then :p Please review, I really appreciate reviews to perfect myself. As long as I feel like writing and have inspiration, then there's going to be more chapters in a short time.


	12. Ch 12 - Maiden of Frost

**Chapter 12: Maiden of Frost**

* * *

 **Alnus Base, Infirmary**

D-Day + 36 days, midday

Inside a private room for recovering was King Duran of Elbe Kingdom. The man was lying in his bed with his eyes closed, obviously thinking about something. His focus was broken when someone knocked on the door.

"Come in." Duran said. Through the door came Inigo in his armor. He placed his right fist over his heart and bowed a little before addressing to his king: "Your Highness, the commander of the Special Region Joint Task Force, General Hazama, is here to see you." After Inigo's presentation Hazama walked in. He bowed for a moment before Duran. "General Hazama, this is King Duran, current ruler of the Elbe Kingdom."

"Honored to meet you, your Highness."

"The honor is all mine, general. Please have a seat and let us talk. Inigo, please leave us alone for a while." Duran commanded his man. Inigo bowed before leaving the room and standing guard at the door. Hazama moved a chair across the room, put it near the bed and sat down. "General Hazama, the leader of the army who destroyed the Imperial and allied armies."

"Please, don't look up at us like this. We committed murder here. War is crime. If only we could avoid this bloodshed…"

"We came to fight you and you defended yourselves. Don't be like that, general."

"I was…quite surprised when I learned about your presence here, Highness. And I understand your situation and will do my best to strengthen your security. Inigo told me everything."

"Ah… I only hope to return home. Right now my son is ruling in my stead. General, the Empire is on his own right now. After their treachery, they are left with no friends."

"King Duran, if you fear us invading Elbe or any other kingdom then you can be at ease. Our main goal here is to bring those responsible for killing more than 600 innocent people in our world to justice and to establish diplomatic relations with the nations we come in contact."

"It's almost like you are reading my mind, general."

"Inigo voiced the same concerns he's sharing with you. I don't believe the people back home will entertain the idea of an alliance. But they surely want to establish trade between the two worlds. I like to believe that we don't come here as conquerors but that is up for politicians to decide."

"When will your kings decide on what to do?"

"Kings? Kings don't rule the world anymore. The people rule themselves."

"What? How can the people rule themselves?"

"Kings and emperors are now just a symbolic image in some countries. They don't hold any power. The people have elected those from within their ranks to represent their interests and rule the country in their name. Of course, it is not as good as it seems, there are greedy people and there are those who do more wrong than good but they are deposed of their position and others who are believed to be more capable take their place. No system is perfect. But this is the only one who hasn't failed yet."

"Your world is very interesting, general. What can you tell me of your world? How does it look? What do you call it?"

"Ah…" Hazama leaned on his back to sit more comfortable before speaking again. "Our world is called Terra. It is Greek for 'earth'. Most of our world is covered by oceans. It is a beautiful world, with beautiful landscapes and a world of technology. Cities so large and beautiful …you have to see it to believe it."

"Maybe one day…"

"Maybe one day. King Duran, there is so much to talk to you about our world…a day wouldn't suffice. I have to tend to my duties now. I hope you can forgive me. Lt Yanagida will be at your disposal to help you shall you need anything. I will not promise you an alliance but I will promise you your safety here."

"Thank you. I wish I could stand up but my… prosthetic leg and hand are still something new to me."

"Modern medicine, heh! Now, please excuse me but I'll take my leave."

* * *

 **Alnus Base, Living Quarters**

Pina and Bozes made themselves very comfortable in their room. The royal duo was surprised by the comfy beds and pillow. They wished they could take them back to the capital and sleep on them. Another thing that made them wonder was how the light was produced that laminated their room. Even the walls were made of some sort of stone while the palace was mostly made of bricks.

Their thought train of _'how?'_ and wonder was brought to a stop when they heard knocking at the door. It was Itami and Erwin, both smiling and in high spirits.

Itami: "Princess Pina, Lady Bozes, how are you doing?"

Pina: "Eh… I think we're well. Is just a bit too much of a difference living here and what we're used to."

Bozes: "What brings you two here?"

Erwin: "Well, you see, it is lunch time and we were asking ourselves if you'd like to eat with us. Rory, Lelei, Tuka and other RCT3 members will be there."

Pina: "Eating? Where?"

Erwin: "Mess hall." Both girls raised their eyebrows. "What is a mess hall?"

Itami: "Dining room. Call it a dining room."

Bozes exchanged looks with Pina before both nodded and left the room accompanied by the two lieutenants. Outside, they met with Rory, Lelei, Tuka, Tomita and Kuribayashi. Rory immediately took her place on Itami's right and clung to him like glue to paper.

Rory: "Youjiii, why did you bring them all?"

Itami: "Don't you like it when there are more of us, Rory?"

Rory: "I wanted to be the two of us. You could tell me about your world and those books I see you reading so often."

Itami smiles to Rory as he speaks: "We're going tomorrow through the gate and we'll have plenty of time to see Japan"

Pina: "Tomorrow? When tomorrow?"

Erwin: "Don't worry. Someone will come and wake you up to have plenty of time in the morning to prepare."

The group passed by the small airfield that was built and was starting to receive its planes. A fence blocked most of their view. There were two F-4 Phantoms on the runway and three A-10 Warthogs with more aircraft scheduled to arrive. There were many transport and attack helicopters at the moment. Bozes noticed that there was a lot of ruckus over the other side of the fence. Curiosity took her over and she asked the group what was over there.

Itami: "That is the airfield. That's where the helicopters and planes make their home when they are not on a mission."

Lelei: "What is a plane?"

Itami: "You will see them soon, Lelei. And the Princess and Lady Bozes will see them too."

Pina: "I thought the main reason for me and Bozes going through the gate was to mediate a peace between the two sides."

Erwin: "That too. I hope you will find Japanese and other cultures interesting because you will have your fair share of them. And to give you a short answer, the planes fly. Just that they fly a lot faster than the helicopters."

Bozes: "Faster than the Iron Pegasus? How is that possible?"

Tomita: "Technology, miss Bozes." answered her question with a very warm smile on his face to which Bozes replied with another smile.

The group made its way to the canteen. Everybody was eating and minding its own business with laughter and chatting dominating the atmosphere. The five natives were not used to a place this large, not even the three who came before the royals. As they made their way to the front, they felt many eyes watching them. They got their food and sat down at a table.

Kuribayashi: "Alright, let's eat."

Pina and Bozes stared at the grilled chicken breast, rice with some sauce and the small brownie. They were reluctant at first but gathered their courage when everyone else started eating. The food tasted better than they initially expected it to.

Itami: "Alright guys, listen here. Tomorrow we are going through the gate. Princess, you and Lady Bozes will go somewhere else than us."

Pina: "We'll meet your representatives, right?"

Itami: "Yes. Tomita and Kuribayashi will accompany you. Me, Erwin and the girls will have to report before the National Diet and a U.N. committee. After everybody gets its job done we will meet at a hotel."

Erwin: "Aren't you forgetting something, Itami?"

Itami: "You have the pleasure, Erwin."

Erwin: "On the second day, we will make a trip to the Yokosuka military port and then we'll visit a history museum. And on the third day we'll watch some movies. How does that sound?"

Kuribayashi jumped at the news: "That's great!"

Bozes: "Yo-ko-suu-ka."

Kuribayashi: "You guys will have the chance to see our warships."

Tomita: "Lt, you don't seem so happy about the free time."

Itami: "I am just thinking… Oh right! The fourth day will be for shopping and resting. Is up to you what you want to do."

Lelei: "I will take my time to study the world beyond the gate."

Kuribayashi: "I'll explore a mall. Tuka, do you want to join me?"

Tuka: "Mhm!" she mumbled while eating.

Erwin: "Itami, what about you?"

Itami: "I want to see someone before I come back here. Lelei, did you speak to Master Kato about yesterday?"

Lelei: "Yes. He felt it too. He was busy reading a book at the moment. He does not know for sure but he felt like the same phenomenon occurred in two places at the same time."

Erwin: "Two places?"

Lelei: "One close to Italica and one somewhere far far away from here, towards north. Master Kato is one of the greatest wizards. He didn't make a mistake since I know him."

Itami: "Man, that sucks. Could they be somewhere in the northern provinces?"

Pina: "What are you looking for?"

Itami: "That time when it rained a lot and we went unconscious, we lost four comrades and their vehicle. Alistair was inside that vehicle and I intend to find him. Princess, what lies to the north?"

Pina: "There would be Italica, Romaria Mountains, Row Stream, Seth Lake forests, and then there is the Mountain Range of Ice and Snow."

Bozes: "Very cold there…"

Itami exchanged looks with Erwin and both sighed deeply. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a hell of a journey ahead of us." Erwin stated for everyone. "Itami, with your permission I'd like to report this to General Hazama. We must at least let them know where to look for him before we return."

Itami: "Please do so. I want my friend back."

Erwin: "We leave nobody behind."

The group continued to savor its meal with casual conversation before everyone went about with their work.

* * *

 **Italica, Southern Gateway**

Atop the walls overlooking Dessria highway were Myui with two of her maids, Grey and Dietrich. All five of them overlooking the construction of the FOB and the growing number of Japanese troops who were concentrating outside the walls in preparation for the offensive through the Dumas. It was an unusual sight for the people to see the young countess out here. Myui kept staring into the distance even when she spoke.

Myui: "Tell me, mister Dietrich. What are you going to do after all this ends?"

Dietrich: "Hard to say… Most likely we'll stay for a long time."

Myui: "You saved this town. I hope you will stay here for a longer period of time, at least until we recruit soldiers and defend ourselves."

Dietrich: "Don't worry, Countess. I'll leave soon, but there will be people here to take care of the town. Lt-Col Robert and his British soldiers will garrison Italica for a while longer. I've even sent out some patrols to search and destroy bandit groups."

Grey: "You people are very strange. Such generosity in our world…was never seen."

Dietrich: "We are different. Even against orders, I'll do my best and protect people. Armies are here to protect the innocent."

Grey: "Yet you still wage war against us."

Dietrich: "Mister Grey, if that was supposed to throw my morality off its feet then you failed in choosing the right words. It was you who sent that army to invade our world. And we are here to make sure such a threat is neutralized – eliminate the danger from the premises to keep our citizens safe. It would be too much trouble to destroy this nation so we'll resume to capturing those responsible. And destroying nations and countries is not what we want to do. I don't like to admit it, but the Empire is a huge stability factor right now and toppling it would only cause suffering for the common folk."

Grey: "You truly are a wise warrior."

Myui: "Thank you, mister Dietrich. I thank you again. Your help means a lot for me and my people. I hope one day we can repay your kindness… Please excuse me, I'll return to the mansion now. Have a good day." a tired Myui spoke. She should be playing with other kids at her age, but she's ruling a town and this is visible in her character.

Grey: "Such an adorable child… So, what is next? Bravil?"

Dietrich: "Is there any chance for the garrison there to surrender without bloodshed?"

Grey: "Not really…"

Dietrich: "I hoped we could avoid a siege… shame. A real shame. So many lives can be saved. Mister Grey, pray for your princess to succeed in preliminary negotiations and for your Senate to accept the peace talks. I really like your cities, they are beautiful. Italica reminds me of southern Germany. I hope Bravil will be the last city to suffer a battle in this war." The colonel spoke before turning away, his coat dancing in the wind, and stepping down the stairs.

* * *

 **Special Region, somewhere far north**

 _Meanwhile_

Alistair was slowly making his way through the forest. He was lucky to shoot a rabbit and secure his next meal. _'Where the actual fuck am I?'_ was the most important question on his mind. He was still out of radio range of anyone. He has to travel a lot to be able to make contact with anyone he knows. His double layer of clothing was keeping him warm when he was on the move. He carries two M1911 pistols with several ammo clips and an M4 with double ammo. The weight of all the ammunition and backpack slows him down but without them he would live a shorter life.

' _Huh? What's this?'_ He thought when he spotted something on the ground up ahead. Alistair came closer to see what it was. "What the…" were the only words to come out of his mouth. Being a veteran came with the advantage of a hardened stomach and steel nerves. At his feet lied the corpse of a strange creature. Alistair had a good look around to make sure nothing was creeping on him before squatting before the dead thing to examine it. _'Guess this is what Mack described… strange jellyfish like body… what look like tentacles, bloody big wings and teeth. Bullet holes. This black frozen fluid must be its blood. What the frak is this thing? This thing has …the fuck is this?'_

He kept staring at a weird limb but it was more like a spear with knuckles. _'This must be the thing Mack told me about'_. He stared a little more at the creature, he took out from his chest pocket the notebook to look at it once more. His thumb raced across its cover. _'No, not now.'_ he thought to himself and put it back in his pocket. _'When I make camp would be a better moment. I'm not in the clear yet. Gotta keep my eyes open for these damn monsters.'_

He got up and had a good look around once more before moving again. The snow was compressing beneath his weight and gave off its distinguishable sound. The large pine trees seemed to open up upfront in a large clearing. Voices and cries could be heard from the clearing. Alistair picked the pace, intrigued by what was unfolding ahead. He saw several monsters fly above his head before diving. _'The pitched sound of blades cutting through flesh and metal clinging. Somebody is fighting there!'_. His walk turned into a sprint. He came to a halt behind a large bush and poked his head through to scout. He saw three carcasses of those jelly monsters lying on the ground with a dozen bodies of what looked like soldiers in armor, most of them lying face down in a blood stained snow. _'Bloody hell!'_

His eyes shifted to his left where he noticed three fighters, all wearing the same type of armor – a mix between a samurai armor, a Roman lorica segmentata and medieval European plate armor. Their swords were much more different than the Imperial swords – they resembled more a katana. They were facing off against two other monsters. The fight was fierce. A monster dived in on them and went for the one most isolated from the other two, it bent its spear-like limb and ran the warrior through, the poor man barely having a chance before dying and being taken away by the foul creature and torn apart in flight and consumed. _'Shit! These two will die if it goes like this!_ _'_ was Alistair's resolve to help them. He jumped out of the bush, aimed his M4 at the monster in the air, switched to semiautomatic and let out a few bullets. A few bullets were enough to bring it down to be finished off by the two with the swords. The Brit then shifted its attention at the one with the prey and tried to snipe it. A loud roar of pain was proof that at least one of its bullets found its mark. "Yeah, run you bitch!"

Alistair was breathing heavily, eyes fixed on the departing monster. He slowly turned around to have a better look at the two survivors. Both were staring at the dead monster before them. The one on the left then collapsed to his knees spitting out blood, using the sword as a means to keep his balance while his right hand was trying to stop the blood pouring out from a wound in his chest. _'Crap!'_

He ran towards them. The wounded's comrade tried to help him stand up but his journey was at an end. Alistair came close enough to see the huge amount of blood that was coming out and to hear him trying to breathe as if he was not having enough oxygen. _'Crap! An artery was hit and his lungs pierced…'_. Alistair could do nothing but watch the warrior's last moments of life. He took his helmet off and closed his eyes for a moment. The survivor looked more like a woman than a man from behind. He reached with his hand for her left shoulder.

"He's gone…"

"Praad! Dreh ni dir! …Dreh ni dir…." her voice betrayed her tears.

Alistair sat beside her and embraced her, feeling a bit awkward though. "He's dead… Let him go."

The girl started crying over her comrade's body. "He was my last friend… He died like everyone else in this frozen hell… Why!?"

"That is a soldier's life… You can't stay here for long."

"Leave me alone… I will stay with them."

Alistair slowly turned her head around to reveal her beautiful features. Her blue eyes were almost swollen by tears, her beautiful dark blue hair was flowing beneath her helmet. Her beautiful young features were those of someone not past 30. "Come on…" The girl measured Alistair from head to toe before wiping her tears and asking him in the native language of the Empire: "Who are you?"

"Eh… You can call me Al. I'm a soldier in the British Army."

"I've never heard of this army. And your clothes are strange too. Where is your armor?"

Alistair patted his black helmet and his bullet proof vest. "These are. Where I come from… well, let's say is a different world. Who are you?"

"I'm… I'm Alia of the Frost Guard. Or I was… now I'm the last one."

"Come on, get up. We should move before those things come back. Here, let me help you up."

"No, give me a moment." she replied. Alia wiped her tears again before kneeling before her dead comrade, closing his eyes and bringing her hands together and say what Alistair guessed to be a prayer:

"Rah ahrk zii, lig lingraav avok niin ahrk aak niin wah onlaas.

Frahjiik voth un mahlaan fahdon ahrk aak zey ko dii tiid do praag.

Vonok!"

She then slowly got up on her feet, sheathed her blade and put her helmet back on her head. Alistair took note of her armor. The predominant color was blue. Her helmet was similar to a roman legionnaire's helmet but it was made of steel plates and was more oval, it had protection for the neck and the top was ornamented with a grey dragon skeletal figurine, its wings expanding on the front of the helmet and the dragon's head was acting as a nose guard. The cuirass was a lorica segmentata mixed with plate armor, with extra protection for shoulders and upper hands. The gauntlets were just like a samurai's. The leggings and boots were made of steel plate. The armor also had a nice looking belt and a blue padded skirt. Beneath her armor was a layer of blue padded fur and clothing to keep her warm. _'Definitely new people and culture.'_

"Can't say I met your people before. What did you say?"

"I bid him farewell in the afterlife. You saved my life… Al. Whatever you did… it killed this monster."

"What are they?"

"Demons from the underworld! They have been plaguing us for more than a month. Entire villages butchered by them and towns isolated because people are too afraid to move out… So many warriors claimed by them…"

"They killed one of my friends too…"

"How many are there of your group?"

"Just me… the other three died. Can you tell me where we are? I am kinda lost."

"Huh? What do you mean lost?"

"I'll tell you later if you want to stick with me. Where are we?"

"You're in the north, soldier. What they call the Mountain Range of Ice and Snow. And now, you're in the Spirit's Forest."

"Sounds bad… How far am I from Alnus?"

"Alnus!? That would be a lot. Maybe a full month of traveling."

"Say what!? A bloody month!?"

"Yes."

Alistair facepalmed himself. "Bloody hell…"

"As you said, let's get moving. As much as I'd like to bury my comrades…no, I have to move."

"What is your destination?"

"We were originally tasked with seeking help from the Empire. But we didn't make it too far… I still want to fulfill this task. Seek help and hunt down every damn monster."

"You might find the help you need at Alnus. If you want to accompany me, then I'd be most grateful to ask my friends to help your people."

"That is far from here… And what is there besides empty hills?"

' _She doesn't know yet… Information didn't reach them. Well, I can understand…with these monsters lurking about…_ ' "I'll tell you everything by the camp fire. Let us help each other here, please."

Alia took her time to think about it. "As you say. Follow me, we were headed towards a good camping point not too far from here to the south. We'll make camp there and talk more. Right now you are my best chance."

"Lead the way, miss."

* * *

 **AN:** Thank you all for reading my story. Here is _Chapter 12 – Alia of the Frost Guard._ And to answer a question or two now. No, I won't make magic OP but it will not be something to underestimate either. You will see more later on what I've got prepared for chapter vs technology :D Expect some rough time for the JSDF and their friends and so for the Imperial Army. Next chapter will be about Pina's visit to Japan and more preparations for battle. And after that, the action gets serious. Please leave your opinions as well as critics and ideas in the reviews because I really take them into consideration. Btw, let's see who recognizes Alia's native language. Have a good time!


	13. Ch 13 - Terra Incognita

Time to answer some reviews.

 **AznMagicman:** Yep, I totally got it wrong there, thanks for pointing out. Terra is in Latin, not Greek. Sorry for the misunderstanding, everyone.

 **Mandalore the freedom:** I will explain who they are in this chapter. Not like the hanar from Mass Effect but they are of gray skin color and look way uglier in my mind. I just woke up one morning and came with the idea of how they should look :p As for Orcs, I shall see where the plot takes us. There will be some little politics and stuff with Duran. And sorry for my grammar, I always double check but I always seem to not notice a few mistakes. I.e. I mean to say something but then I press the wrong button and therefor another letter and the word is different then.

 **Drgyen:** Keep in mind that Dietrich is German and feels much more comfortable by saying 'mister' rather than 'knight' or 'ser/sir'. The locals use those titles and maybe some soldiers. But as for Dietrich, he likes 'mister'. He doesn't know them well enough either to address them differently.

 **recordman:** The monsters are up for Alistair to deal with for now :p

 **MODERN ARMED FORCES:** Yep :D I borrowed Alia's native language from Skyrim. I'm an old fan of the TES series.

 **the renegade soldier:** No tentacle porn, lol. I took inspiration from 'The Leviathan'. No porn intended :p there won't be anything like that. And you may be surprised about how Alistair's and Itami's romance life evolve. Thank you for your continuous support!

* * *

 **Chapter 13: Terra Incognita**

* * *

 **Special Region, Spirit's Forest**

D-Day + 36 days, evening

Alia and Alistair set up their camp beneath a cliff. There was enough shelter to accommodate all RCT3 members here should they be present. The two are sitting by the fire, with their backs to the rocks. Alistair started cleaning the rabbit for dinner.

"Man, I'm hungry… Haven't had anything to eat in two days. Hope this will suffice for the time being for both of us…"

Alia was sitting like the samurai, close to the British soldier. Her blue eyes were reflecting the dance of the flames. "I don't want to eat your food. You don't have much either."

"You must eat something. We'll catch something more consistent in the morning. Here, have this and cook it how you like it." He handed her half of the cleaned rabbit.

Alia slowly reached for it. "Thank you!" She took out her knife, put the meat on it and hovered it over the fire, just as Alistair, to roast the meat.

Both were waiting for their food to be ready. Alistair was curious about her and her people. Just as he gathered his thoughts to ask her a couple questions, Alia jumped a bit pissed off. "This is taking too long!" she then proceeded to turn around with the food on the knife in her right hand and with her left hand fingers she made a sign, closed her left fist and then opened it as she said "Yol!". The result took Al by surprise, he was definitely not expecting this. A small flame came from her left hand and burned the outer part of her meal.

"What did you just do?"

"Used basic fire magic, what else?"

"That was…really unexpected."

"Why are you so surprised?"

"Where I come from is a place where magic does not exist. When I arrived here I learned that you have magic in your world."

Alia was suspicious at least about her current companion. For her, he was a man shrouded in mystery with no knowledge of magic but with the means to kill that monsters from a safe distance. "Where are you from?"

"You see, there happened something. Three months ago a gate opened between your world and mine. That gate is located at Alnus. The Empire sent an invasion force to conquer our world but our armies defeated them easily and then we pushed through the gate to make sure this foe would not attack us again and bring those who orchestrated this to justice. Many innocent people were killed by Imperial soldiers."

"The gate on the holy hill of Alnus opened!?" she asked.

"Yes. My friends are there, an army. We are fighting a war against the Empire right now. And they can help your people here if they are allowed. We have the means to fight those creatures from a safe distance. I did it with this…" he proceeded to present his weapon. "The M4 carbine. Great weapon. It fires the 5.56x45mm NATO round." He took the magazine off to show it to Alia. "This is where the bullets go. And you plug it in like this… arm it like this. And you are good to kill."

"Are you saying that this is a weapon and everyone can use it?"

"Everyone who knows how to use it. This is not a toy, it is a dangerous killing tool."

"Can you tell me how to make them? We need those weapons!"

"Even if I wanted to I couldn't because they are very complicated to manufacture. Your world has to go a long way, say 500 years, before developing the principles of firearms."

Alia's eyes filled right then with murderous intent. "Are you calling me a primitive?"

Alistair gesticulated with his hands, suddenly realizing what he said sounded like. "No no no no! That is not what I said."

"Hey! Listen carefully! We may not look like it to you, but the northerners are better than the Empire." She spoke with a menacing tone and pointing her knife towards Alistair who slowly put his index finger on her knife and lowered it. "You are a dangerous girl, you know? Being so hot tempered will bring you to an early grave."

Alia then crossed her arms and spoke like a teenager: "I can fend for myself."

"Sometimes, a moment of silence saves you a hundred moments of regret. So… who are you and why seek help from the Empire if you are… better?"

"Ever since the demons descended upon us from the mountains everything started going bad. Really bad. Our warriors were killed too fast, villages butchered by them, towns closed… We are in a desperate situation. Famine will hit every major town. We need help from the Empire to hunt down those creatures and put an end to this nightmare. They have the dragon riders and good archers. I doubt they'll help us, Molt would see us suffer and hit us to conquer the lands."

"The Empire never subjugated your people?"

"No. Every campaign against us ended up with them retreating. They can't handle as well the cold and the winter. Now, there is this situation where the northern people and the Empire just stare at each other to look for signs of weakness and strike. But you must understand that we are in a desperate situation before calling us fools."

"How did this begin? Were the … the demons in this world since always?"

"No, they made their appearance in the past month. Some of our scholars believe them to be Hardy's servants, the goddess of the underworld. Legends speak about them. Can this have something to do with the opening of the gate at Alnus?"

"I have no idea. Taking into account that your universe is totally different than mine, there could be a good chance of these two being related to each other. Do gods really exist?"

"Yes… of course they do. Don't you believe in gods?"

Alistair felt strange hearing this question. "After all that I've seen… and after all that happened… I tend to believe there is no god or they just don't care about us and have a good laugh on our behalf. I have seen horrors exceeding anything you could think of, horrors gods took upon themselves to never let happen."

Alia let her knife fall down as she was unable to move for a second. Grief and sorrow took hold of her. "Worse than seeing your friends, your comrades butchered before you? Worse than finding dead children in the snow with the look of horror still fresh on their faces?"

"I watched a friend get blown to pieces. We never found more than a leg from his body… I watched people hit and ran over by tanks, even children, mothers holding their toddlers in their arms get squished and shot. I have seen others burn to the death and listened to their screams of agony. I watched an entire BTR explode and find its crew the next day after the fire was out, burnt to a crisp. Alia… I have seen too much for a man."

While she didn't understand everything he said, words such as _tank_ and _BTR_ , she understood that Alistair went through some terrible conflicts before. Indeed, he was an Afghanistan and Iraq veteran. He operated in Iraq during the wars and then training the new Iraqi Army and fighting ISIS alongside them for a while. That was the darkest time of his service where he learned to hate with passion, where he turned into a monster as he described himself once to Erwin.

Alistair had a flash of memories, his face was plain with eyes staring into emptiness. Awakened from his trance and flashback by the cracking of the fire, he asked Alia: "What about your group? Who are you?"

"We were part of an order of warriors – the Frost Guard. The northerners' finest soldiers… We used to be a proud order, undefeated in battle for decades. Always there to fight the invading Imperial legions and help the people. Not like some mercenary bastards selling themselves to the gold of the Empire and turning against us. But our numbers plummeted with the arrival of the demons. Right now… I'm one of the few left. I fear our traditions may die with us… An order with such a lengthy tradition and rich history. Ah!"

"Why not use magic to fight the enemy? I see you know some of it."

"Magic is not something for everyone. Some are born with a talent for it. Others not. The battle mages we had were killed too. And the magic I know is simple magic. My father taught me how to use the basic fire because it comes in handy in this cold province. At this level I can only use it as a tool, not a weapon."

"I see."

"There there. Our food looks like it's good to eat."

The two of them had a small dinner before falling asleep and resting for the next day which was going to take them out of the woods.

* * *

 **Alnus Base, Gate**

D-Day + 37 days, 0850 hours.

Itami, Erwin and Tomita were at the gate, making ready to go through. They were waiting for the girl squad to arrive. Erwin and Itami were constantly checking their watches.

Erwin: "I have to say they like taking their time."

Itami: "Girls… This is what I loved at Risa, she never derped around making ready. She just got ready in time."

Erwin: "Who is Risa?"

Itami: "My… my ex-wife."

Tomita's eyes grew wide when he heard Itami. "Your EX!? Lieutenant, you never said you were married."

Itami: "Come on, Tomita, don't make it sound so weird."

Tomita: "I'm sorry. Is just a little…"

"Is just a little unexpected to know you actually found someone like you." Erwin said with a smirk on his face.

Itami turned to face him with a friendly-evil gaze in his eyes: "Oy, Erwin!"

Erwin: "Yes, Mr. Ex-husband?"

Itami: "Ohohoho! I'll repay you full for this."

Tomita: "Here they come, get serious the two of you."

The two officers turned their eyes to Tomita. He gulped before speaking: "Sorry! I mean, sirs!"

Erwin: "Itami! What are you up to?" he asked Itami who seemed to be up to something.

Itami just giggled like an evil man before turning to his more serious self and greet the girls. "Good morning, everyone! You definitely took your time."

"Hello, everyone!" they saluted in a choir.

Rory tilted her head a bit to the left and looked Itami in his eyes. "Youji, what's going on?"

Itami: "Eh? Nothing. Come on, let's move."

Everyone started moving slowly through the gate. Bozes clung to Tomita, afraid of going through the dark tunnel connecting the two worlds. Tuka was by Kuribayashi's side with Lelei and Pina. Rory whispered into Itami's ear: "Tell me when you want harm someone."

Itami froze for a second in his mind. "Rory, I was planning a joke, not an actual murder or something like that." He had to admit to himself that at first he had a damn crazy idea. As they walked, they noticed the light and stepped into it. They found themselves in a warm winter's day in Japan. Everyone who was not a native of this world was shocked by their surroundings. Pina could not help herself to constrain her loud thoughts.

"Such architecture… buildings this tall rising to the heavens… streets so beautiful and decorated… Is this Japan?"

Lelei: "It would seem so…"

Bozes: "Princess, look! There are people in those glass towers."

Pina: "Glass towers!? They can build immense structures with glass?"

Erwin came near her before speaking with a smile of pride: "This is just a regular street, Princess Pina. You will find many more magnificent buildings in Japan and everywhere else in this world."

Pina: "Why did we even attack a civilization capable of such wonders? Not even the Palace rises this high…"

Itami thought to himself _'Man, she's more shocked than I anticipated.'_

The royal duo's eyes then turned around to take note of their other surroundings. Everyone was so absorbed by the buildings that they failed to notice the APCs and IFVs of the JSDF, British Army, Bundeswehr and U.S. Army making ready along the street. They were formed up in a column and making ready to go through the gate.

Pina: "Huh!? What are they doing?"

Erwin: "They are making ready to go through the gate."

Itami: "Say Erwin, did you know about this? I haven't been told yet."

Erwin: "I heard it when having dinner last evening. Every country is sending in 500 more soldiers except for Italy. Japan brings in 1,000 more."

The commanding officer of the column gave his order to the other vehicles. They roared their engines and picked up speed. The leading IFV which was a Bradley operated by the British carried a flag unknown to everyone in the group. It was a beautiful one. The main font was a dark blue, in the upper left and lower right corners was the red Canadian maple leaf, in the other corners were three golden stars representing the three European nations – Italy, Great Britain and Germany. In the middle was planet Earth sketched in white, like on the U.N. flag, and under it was written "Combat Unit Europa." The beautiful flag danced in the wind as its vehicle picked up speed.

Erwin: "They really made a flag for our combat unit?"

Tomita: "It looks great! I'm envious, Lt Erwin."

Pina and Bozes watched the armored column proudly march through the gate with their flag flying proud just as the soldiers it represents. Then they were followed by a U.S. Army contingent with their flag and then the JSDF. After the vehicles came the soldiers who marched orderly, making their way through. They waved at Itami and his companions. Pina watched them and thought to herself _'These soldiers are going to war… They are going to fight the Empire. How many will follow..? I can recognize almost every flag, I've seen them on the soldiers at Italica.'_

She gathered courage to ask Itami: "Itami-dono! Where are they going?"

Itami: "You need soldiers to fight wars, don't you, Princess? They are going to siege Bravil."

Bozes: "Hold on a minute! You can't do that!"

Itami: "Hm?"

Erwin intervened before Bozes' pride had the best of her. "Miss Bozes, right now there is a war going on and as a knight yourself you must understand what is going on. Please calm down."

Pina: "How many soldiers does your world have ready?"

Itami: "Eh… I don't really know. Erwin, help me out here, please."

Erwin: "Sure… Well… there would be somewhere around 30 million at the ready with the possibility of calling 100 million more to arms shall the need arise."

Everyone in the group was shocked. Not even Tomita, Kuribayashi and Itami weren't expecting to hear these numbers. Pina's and Bozes' jaws dropped. _'There is no chance in a billion that we can win against them…'_

Just as the German soldiers were marching before them, a limo arrived to pick them up. Erwin heard his fellow countrymen singing and started to sing along.

" _Irgendwo im fremden land / Somewhere in a foreign land_

 _Ziehen wir durch stein und sand / We march over stones and sand_

 _Fern von zuhaus und vogelfrei / Far away from home, band of outcasts_

 _100 Mann und ich bin dabei. / 100 men and I am with them._

 _100 Mann und ein befehl / 100 men and an order_

 _und ein Weg, den keiner will. / And on a way which none wants to go"_

His singing was cut short by Itami's voice: "I don't want to be rude, Erwin, but we are on a schedule. Let's get done with the damn thing already."

Erwin saluted the German soldiers passing by before getting inside, happier than a child. "Alright. So we go to the National Diet to report while the royal delegation will negotiate a preliminary treaty, right?"

Kuribayashi: "Yes. Hey, lieutenant. Don't say anything stupid, the whole world is watching."

Itami: "I might just miss you, Shino… you know, and call for you on live …" but a punch from Rory made him swallow his words. "Ouch! What was that for?"

Rory: "Youjiii!"

Erwin: "Calm down, Miss Rory. You will be left alone with Itami soon enough."

Itami: "Ohohohoho! Erwiiin, so you really wanna go at it?"

Erwin: "Into a quiet room, all alone with some Beethoven or Mozart playing? Yes yes!"

The limo finally arrived at its destination where Itami, Erwin, Rory, Lelei and a dressed Tuka were going to talk before the world. Then it left to take Pina and Bozes to a hotel.

* * *

 **Tokyo, National Diet meeting**

D-Day + 37 days, midday

The large conference room was filled with people. Many journalists, cameras and politicians – Japanese and U.N. representatives. When they entered through the main doors all attention was shifted on them. Flashes went off everywhere as everyone with a camera rushed to take pictures. After everything settled down, an elderly man spoke: "We are here today to look into the current evolution of things in the Special Region. First, we will have a Japanese spokeswoman hold her inquiry regarding civilian casualties during engagements of the JSDF and their allies. Then we will proceed to acquire information regarding the bigger picture of the events unfolding on the other side of the gate. Miss, you can begin."

From among the Japanese politicians a woman stood up and went to the microphone. She adjusted her voice and prepared her papers. She started by calling Itami forward. The officer conformed.

Woman: "First Lieutenant Youji Itami, what happened during the evacuation of Coda village?"

Itami: "We learned about the existence of a fire dragon from the village elder after we came across Tuka's destroyed village. The whole village decided to evacuate in order not to become food for the beast. We helped them during their exodus."

Woman: "Then, if you helped them, how do you explain the many dead after the dragon attacked? Why did you fail to protect them when they were under your protection?"

Itami: "We failed because we were low in numbers and didn't have the adequate firepower at the right time to stop the dragon from swooping over the column and wrecking havoc on the innocent."

Woman: "You still had a tank with you, didn't you?"

Itami: "Yes, but Erwin's tank was at the rear, making sure everything was ok over there. If we had any better weapons and vehicles we could have avoided the unnecessary deaths."

Woman: "Thank you for your time, Lt. Itami. I call forth Lt. Erwin Kalb."

Erwin then stood up from his seat and took Itami's place.

Woman: "I am going to ask you the same question, Lt Erwin. Why did you fail in protecting everyone? Did you actually used the refugees as a shield and bait to lure the dragon in and then claim the glory of finishing it off?"

Erwin was not a man to get angry quickly, but the way she asked her question made him upset. "No, we did not use anyone as bait or human shield. We went in as soon as we saw the dragon. I do want to ask you this, ma'am. What glory do you think there is in war? In fighting, in general? I'll answer the question for you. There is no glory! Why don't you mention the losses the British RCT3 members suffered? About Pvt Lewis suffering burns on his hand and Pvt Carter being wounded by a shrapnel? Which shrapnel came flying through the air from the Humvee that exploded after being hit by the stupendous hot flames of the dragon. While I do regret the lives lost, I will not claim any guilt to make you and your friends progress with your personal agenda of interests. Please think before you actually speak."

"Mister Kalb, please refrain your language."

Erwin: "I am a soldier and I will tell the truth. You are politicians and tell lies! This is the difference between you and us."

"Mister Kalb, thank you for your time. Please return to your seat."

The same woman asked Tuka and Lelei a few questions but all she got were kind words about the JSDF and the other soldiers, feats of their bravery and humility. When it was Rory's turn, she totally made the woman shit her pants and put her to her place. She said what Erwin said but with a more angry tone and with more hard truth to her words. She also praised the soldiers for fighting off the dragon and earning her respect.

"Now that this was settled, let us proceed and ask about Italica. What happened there? Lt Itami, as the CO of RCT3 at the moment, you have the word."

Itami: "Thank you. We originally went to Italica to help the refugees from Coda sell dragon scales and earn money for themselves. They were represented by Lelei and Tuka. When we arrived, we found the city in a poor condition as it just fended off an attack from a large brigand group. We were allowed inside and accepted to aid them in defending Italica. The situation could be blamed on the latest battles between the Empire and the JSDF which consumed the soldiers and left the provinces vulnerable to bandit raids. After defending the city and taking control of it, we immediately began construction of a fort near the town. Countess Myui retained her position as ruler of Italica. Our soldiers trated the injured, helped rebuild the damages and assumed guard duty inside and outside of Italica. Lt-Col Robert Lee, the commander of the British forces, even sent out patrols to secure the countryside and eliminate bandits wherever they find them."

"Thank you for your response. Now, at the initiative of many countries at the latest U.N. meeting, we have decided to delegate reporters and observers to be sent through the gate to document the life of the people there and oversee the next military operation which I hear revolves around capturing a town of strategic value and securing a pass through the Duma Mountains. Thus, if successful, this will allow us to strike the capital of the Empire. Is that right?"

"Yes, that is right."

"Several teams will accompany you on your way back and they will show everything they recorded to the whole world upon their return. I would like to thank you all for being able to come here today. If there is nothing left, then we can declare this meeting as over."

* * *

 **Tokyo, Hotel conference room**

 _Meanwhile_

Pina and Bozes were sitting across Sugawara and Reiko Shirayuri. Tomita and Shino were going to be the translators for the four. Shirayuri broke the ice as she was the first to speak.

Shirayuri: "Princess Pina Co Lada, Lady Bozes Co Palesti, I am Shirayuri Reiko and this here is Koji Sugawara. Please, don't be nervous. We're here to talk and hopefully come to an agreement." she spoke with a smile that was supposed to help the two relax.

Pina: "We are honored to meet you."

Shirayuri: "Please, let us get to what interests us both. This meeting today is what we hope to be the foundation of a peace treaty. What we discuss today is just to make sure we are on the same wavelength."

Pina: "I understand. Let us begin."

The two representative groups talked about a variety of topics, ranging from economy and economical compensation, to geography, demographics and the military's action. Princess Pina was told that the JSDF and their friends were there to stay a long time, especially if they agreed upon a trade agreement. The Princess' greatest concern lied in territorial concessions. Shirayuri said that they expect to be granted a certain amount of land and that may include Alnus with the area nearby and Italica for a start. In the end, Pina and Bozes left relieved of some of the tension they were building inside. They tried to hold off the conflict as best as they could, but every time Sugawara said that it was up to General Hazama and other strategists to deal with that. Now that everyone finished their job, the group will spend the following days together, everyone eager to learn about Earth and Japan.

* * *

 **AN:** Please leave your ideas, commentaries and opinions in the review section. I really appreciate the reviews and take them into consideration.


	14. Ch 14 - Gun to a knife fight!

**Mandalore the freedom:** Yep! You can only imagine how many soldiers they can arm from their 1.3 billion population, with 2.3 million active personnel. Now regarding the Frost Guard… they are something I came up along with the story. I will see how they end up :p no spoilers for you because I still don't know for sure what to go with. Thank you for your continuous support and reviews!

 **the renegade soldier:** He may : or he may not :D you can only guess so far.

 **grievousrommel:** Weeeell they ain't the Picts. They are normal people, they don't paint their bodies like the Picts used to. I will explain in an upcoming chapter what is up with Alia's blue hair. I see the northern people as regular people, most of them being blond haired and brown haired, with very few with dark blue hair.

 **recordman:** Thank you :D your guess wasn't far off from how I envisioned her.

 **Shadoweye12:** My apologies. I am not really a good writer and drama isn't really my forte either. But I am glad you enjoyed my story so far and I hope you'll enjoy it from now on too :D Your chapter was great, no comment. I really loved the last tho, with Akalu on the run. Epic Naruto reference there, hehehe! Thank you for following my story and I'm looking forward for your next chapters.

 **ATTENTION!** I make a reference here. I don't have anything against Americans. I only have something against people who talk crap about things they don't know anything about.

* * *

 **Chapter 14: Gun to a knife fight!**

* * *

 **Tokyo, Hotel restaurant**

D-Day + 38 days, morning.

Itami, Erwin, Tomita, Shino, Pina, Bozes, Rory, Lelei and Tuka were having breakfast after a good night's rest. There was bacon with eggs for everyone. Rory was savoring every dish she had over this side of the gate. Not that the others weren't entertained by the good food.

Erwin: "So, today we are expected to pay a visit to the Yokosuka military harbor. And then we are going to a museum. Anyone who wants to stay here than come?"

Pina: "A… museum… is it a place of knowledge?"

Erwin: "You can say so, Princess. They hold models and knowledge about many things. What kind of museum do you want to visit?"

Lelei: "I would like to know about your world."

Rory: "Is there a museum about this world and its people?"

The four natives of Earth exchanged looks with each other with an expression of 'What..?' on their faces. Then Tomita had an idea: "I believe that what they want to know is history, general history."

Shino: "Makes sense, know their history to know about them."

Itami: "And I've got just the right place for it! The Tokyo National Museum was fitted two years ago with a new technology which stores information and represents it like a virtual reality. We can check in there for general history."

Erwin: "There were plans for something similar to be made in Germany too."

Shino: "So, girls. How does that sound to you?"

Pina and Bozes approved by nodding with their heads. Lelei's excitement was revealed through her words, not her blank face. Tuka and Rory were eager too.

Tomita: "Then it is set."

Itami: "Tokyo National Museum's new VR technology."

* * *

 **Special Region, Spirit's Forest**

 _Meanwhile_

A morning mist rolled over the cold forest. Alia and Alistair were slowly making their way through the trees and bushes towards south. All they had for breakfast was some water. Their stomachs were growling, begging them for food they didn't have.

Alia: "I wish we had something to eat."

Alistair suddenly came to a halt and crouched, his M4 pointing to 10 o'clock, the same direction as his eyes. Alia's instincts kicked in when she noticed her companion duck, she crouched too and unsheathed a few centimeters of her blade with the left while with the right hand reached for the hilt, ready to draw it out. "What is it?" she asked while checking their rear with detective eyes.

Alistair: "I think we found our meal. That animal looks a lot like a deer. Is its meat eatable?"

Alia turned her eyes towards the animal, half hidden by a couple trees. "Yes, it is one of the favorite catches of the hunters. Let's get closer and take it down."

Alistair: "Hold it, I can take it down from here. Don't get scared now, you didn't last time." he said as he went in prone position to get the maximum stability for his first shot.

Alia asked a bit irritated: "What are you doing?"

Alistair: "This way I am the most accurate. If I miss my first shot we'll never get a second chance."

Gunshot! The sound of the M4 sending death in the form of a bullet echoed through the trees. Alia was startled by the sound. She may have heard it before but it was when she was full of adrenaline from fighting off the demons prior to her comrades' deaths. And the bullet found its mark. The deer dropped, mortally wounded in the chest.

Alistair got up from the cold ground and walked towards the animal. "Come on, we have food."

The deer was struggling with its last moments of life. Alistair took pity on the animal, he knew that they must eat and he was not eager to let this chance escape. But he couldn't help but feel bad for the animal. He pulled out one of his M1911s, crouched before its head, put the barrel on its forehead and pulled the trigger. Blood painted the deer's back and neck red. "I'm sorry, buddy. But this is a harsh world… Alia…" he throws her his hunting knife "…help me here."

The young warrior looked at him in silence and motionless before speaking: "Hey, Al. Are we going to eat alone an entire deer?"

"That would be… inconvenient for the stomach and to carry that much weight all around..."

"I know this region very well. We're not far from a small town called Fel'kren. Short for 'winter break'. Probably two hours 'till there, is just outside the forest. And it would be nice if we shared the deer with the people. Many hunters never come back to sell what they catch because of the recent plight of the winged demons."

"Sharing is caring. If I was a close-minded American I would call you a communist."

"What is an American and a communist?"

"Ah, sorry. They are people from my world. Alright! Alia, help me with my bag and I'll carry the deer."

Alistair threw his bag with a few magazines inside, two grenades and several survival tools. Alia looked at it a bit appalled. Alistair shook his head with humor. He took the bag from her hand and put it on her shoulders as it was supposed to be carried. "This is how you carry a bag. Isn't it comfy?"

"Yes, it is much more comfortable."

"Alright, you'll owe me a cloth wash after this, if I get any more blood stains on my clothes. Here we go! Aaaargh!" the man picked up the deer in his back and carried it like a large potato sack.

"Do you need any help?"

"Nah, I got! Lead the way, girl." he said with a heavier voice.

"Hey! I am not a girl!"

Alistair pivoted on the spot to see a pissed off Alia. He kept a friendly smile on his face. "You sure are not a man. And you look way younger than me. So to me you're a girl who. I only hope, you don't just play soldier like other girls I know. Don't let me down. Come on, girl… lead the way."

Alia crossed her arms for a few seconds and fixed Alistair with her blue eyes, playing the hurt woman role. "Krosis! You're going to pay, Al."

"Don't be mad, Alia. I'm just messing with you."

She sighed and grumbled something to herself before taking the lead. The trip to Fel'kren was silent and mostly uneventful. Their stroll through the woods was only interrupted by a winged demon's screech. After two and a half hours, they reached the town. It was not a large and important town, fact reflected in the smaller walls and less defensiveness than Italica has. The guards recognized Alia as a member of the Frost Guard by her armor and dark blue color, thus they allowed them access inside the walls without a second thought.

The British soldier felt many pairs of eyes staring at him. _'Well, can't blame 'em. I'm an outsider and complete stranger to them. My attire doesn't help, everyone is wearing some sort of fur, except me. Now the buildings are totally different than at Italica. The stone used in buildings has a darker shade, a lot of wood too was used. Interesting architecture. Hmm… the guards don't look a lot like their southern counterparts either. Fur clothing beneath, with steel plating on the outside. Man, look at that nice blonde! Bloody hell, she seen me!'_

"Stop staring at everyone, Al. You look like a creep."

"Can't help it, this is all very new to me. Besides, they are staring at me too."

"You know what I mean!"

"What do you mean?"

"Stop checking every good looking woman!"

"I just looked at one woman! Waiit… Are you jealous, girl?"

"Like hell!"

"Is ok if you are. I don't mind. But I don't make promises either."

His last line earned him a punch in the stomach from Alia. Everyone around them was looking at Alistair who fell to his knees with a dead deer on his back. He slowly got back up. "Ah, I guess it was unavoidable, ey? I don't know why you're so pissed off for these jokes, especially if they ain't for real."

Alia: "Come on. We're just a street from the butcher's shop. We'll leave the animal there and have him hand out equal shares of meat to every family."

"What guarantee do you have he will do so and not keep it for himself or sell it?"

"Hard times tend to bring people together here. Don't know how it works in your world. But here… we help each other and prevail."

Alistair thought to himself: _'Why do I have a feeling she's an idealist like Kurokawa?'_

"Ah, here we are. Come in." Alia instructed Alistair as she opened the door to the butcher's shop. The air inside was much warmer. Meat was arranged and ready to be distributed to the population tomorrow. The butcher was cutting some more when the two guests interrupted his work.

Butcher: "Hello. What can I do for you?"

Alia: "We brought a deer, fresh hunt this morning. Where do you want us to put it?"

Butcher: "Right over there, on that empty table. I'll have my apprentice take care of that. Thank you. Please, have some meat from this lot."

Alia: "No, thank you. We'll have something at the inn."

Alistair didn't know what to think of this. He jumped in the conversation. "Hey, hold it! I shot this deer to eat some of it. I'm bloody starving here! And I don't have a fucking coin to pay for food at the inn."

The butcher didn't take an interest in Alistair up until now. "Can't say I ever met someone with that kind of clothes… Where are you from?"

Alistair: "Great Britain. United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to be more precise."

The butcher used a piece of clothing to wipe his hands of blood. "There is no such kingdom in Falmart."

Alia: "He is not from here…"

Alistair: "Hold it! No side tracking. What do we eat, Alia? We haven't had a decent meal in two days."

Alia: "Come on, we'll talk to the innkeeper. I know him for a while now."

The butcher threw him a small coin purse. "Here, good man. This should cover you for two days."

Alistair put the purse on the table near the deer. "I don't want to take your money, butcher." He then turned around and followed Alia outside. She gave him his backpack back. "You owe me one good meal, girl."

"Yeah, yeah! Don't worry about that too much. I'll get something for both of us."

The duo made their way to a large inn. It was located in the center of the town, near the now deserted markets. They entered through the large door. The main hall was large, tables all around, a reception, two fireplaces. The innkeeper was giving someone a mug of ale. He looked like a man past 50.

Innkeeper: "Alia? Is that you?"

Alia: "What, you don't recognize me anymore, Vigor?" As it turns out, the innkeeper's name is Vigor. He was a bulkier kid at birth and his parents saw fit to name him after their first impression of their child.

Vigor: "It may have been two years, but I would never forget your face, child. Welcome! Please, have a seat at the counter."

Alia: "Thank you! How have you been?"

Vigor: "Fine. Can't say things are looking good right now with the recent chain of unfortunate events. Our supplies are running lower by the day. Who is your friend here?" he asked looking at Alistair who slowly put his backpack to his left, between his chair and Alia's; not letting go of his M4 and checking the people around them. Everyone was taking an interest in him.

Alistair: "Name's Alistair." he introduces himself as he takes his black helmet off and places it on the counter.

Vigor: "Are you two…?"

Alia blushed a little and Alistair started laughing slowly. "No, good man, you got it wrong here."

Vigor: "Alia took a liking to the exotic. And you don't look from around here either. And since I saw you two together now…"

Alia: "Vigor! Please… stop."

Vigor started laughing with Alistair. "Ahahaha! Sorry, child. It was just natural to think of it. So, what brings you to Fel'kren?"

Alia: "We're on our way south to get help from his friends. He killed a winged demon like it was nothing and they have weapons way more powerful than what we have."

Vigor, leaning on the counter: "Is that so?"

Alistair: "Aye! These poor sods will be a prey for our anti-air artillery. Will be a fine hunting trip. That if they agree to help you. I said I don't make any promises…"

Vigor: "Where are you and your friends from?"

Alistair: "Earth."

Vigor had a long, curious stare at the British soldier. "Ehm… where is that?"

Alia: "He came with an army through the gate at Alnus."

Vigor: "Alnus!? You're far from home, soldier."

Alistair: "I need to get there and get help for you people."

Vigor: "Alia, do you trust him?"

Alia: "He saved my life if nothing else…"

Vigor: "The northerners are weakened, Alia. We haven't succumbed to the Empire's legions but you want to bring an army here… You forget what armies do?"

Alistair jumped in to cut Vigor's concerns short: "Where I come from armies protect the people and help them, not oppress them. If the command decides to help your people, then they will help your people."

Vigor: "Sorry, good man. But I can't take your word for it."

Alistair: "Alright then. Think of me like a monster who protects towns. Not the kind of those who smashes them. Frankly, right now you don't have anyone to help you. You are ineffective in fighting the demons, the Empire's legions were destroyed in the Battle of Alnus with their vassal allies. Pretty limited list of options I'd say."

Vigor: "What battle? No news reached us about it yet."

Alistair: "Almost a month ago. Who is traveling nowadays to spread news?"

Vigor: "You are traveling."

Alistair: "I wasn't even supposed to be here. I am still wondering how I got here. We were on our way to Alnus from Italica when something strange happened and then I found myself with my friends in the woods. All three of them died…"

Vigor: "How did you two meet?"

Alia: "We were on our way to the south when we were ambushed by demons. All 14 of my friends died… And then he jumped in from the trees and fended off the demons with his… gun."

Their chatter was disturbed by Alistair's growling stomach. "I don't mean to be rude, but… I could really use something to eat. Alia…"

Alia: "Yes, I know! Vigor, can you help us with a place for the night?"

Alistair: "And something to eat. If it wasn't for this girl's generosity I wouldn't have to go through this and ask you for food like this. I promise I'll pay you somehow."

Vigor smiled and opened his arms in a welcoming fashion. "You can both stay here for free and eat for free. Plenty of rooms. And I won't ask this good child for money. This inn is your house, Alia."

Alia: "I don't have a house, old man." she said with a sad tone to her voice.

Vigor: "Askil's disciple is most welcome in my home. Especially if she used to live here a while. Come, follow me. I'll bring you a warm meal shortly. Let me show you to your rooms."

Vigor left one of his employees at the counter and went upstairs with Alia and Alistair following him upstairs. Her armor was making the beautiful sound of metal clinging every time she made a step on the stairs. Upstairs was a corridor with four rooms with a single bed on the left and two larger rooms on the right with many beds for those not wanting to pay too much. Alia's and Alistair's rooms were separated by a wall. His room wasn't big. A small window facing the door, a hay and wool bed on the left side, a small table with a chair on the right, a small chandelier with candles hanging from the ceiling. He also had a small wardrobe.

' _This should be more than enough.'_ Al thought to himself. Vigor lighted the candles, excusing himself for not having visitors recently. "Is alright. Let me know when the food is ready."

' _So warm in here. Might as well get those clothes off before I begin sweating and get a cold.'_

He put his rifle on the table, an M1911 loaded under his pillow, his bag near his bed and kept his knife and the other M1911 on him with two spare magazines. He dumped the rest into his backpack. He brought out Mack's notebook before taking his first set of dirtier clothes off and put it on the table. His clothes fell to the ground. _'I'll wash these after eating. This inn must have a cleaning area.'_

After he was left standing with only his first pair of pants he decided to have a look at the notebook he was curious about for a few days now. He opened it and on the first page was written _'Johannes Mack – A World of Shame & Glory'_ and the following page was empty. On the third page: _'The world and self as seen through my eyes and through my heart'_. "Interesting…"

' _Entry I:_

 _I think, and think, and think… I'm thinking myself out of happiness every time but never into it.'_

' _Entry II:_

 _Most people are hollow. They seek to fill their emptiness. But with what do you want to fill a hole into the void?'_

' _Entry III:_

 _The more precious someone is for us… the harder it is to accept that they might die.'_

As he was reading the first three entries, Alia came to his open door. She was standing in the doorframe, she left her helmet in her room but the rest of her armor set was on. She arranged her dark blue hair in a ponytail. Alia watched him silently, he unaware to her presence. The warrior woman noticed immediately a long scar on his back, running from the lower left side to his right shoulder.

Alia: "How did you get that scar on your back?"

Alistair jumped when he heard her. He immediately closed the notebook and threw it on the bed, then turned around to face her. "How long have you been there?"

"Not long. Where did you get that terrible scar?"

"This one on my back? From a retarded ISIS fanatic who thought that charging me with a damn scimitar was a good idea. I noticed him behind me too late, but not that late. I got out alive and he got a few bullets in his head."

"For how long have you been a soldier?"

Alistair turned around to reach for his shirt and undershirt. He didn't reply to her question, he first put his clothes on and his boots. "…for too long. Is that food ready?"

Alia's blue eyes gazed into his pupils surrounded by the brown irises. She stood there motionless, seemingly lost in thought. Alistair snapped his fingers. "Helloooo!"

"I'm here."

"Well… then…will you move and reply to my question?"

She moved from the doorway and walked downstairs. Alistair hid his gun beneath his camouflage shirt, closed the door and followed her. They were seated by Vigor to a smaller table near the staircase and the wall. He served the two with bread and a large beef stew.

Alia: "Thank you, Vigor!"

Alistair: "Thanks, good man. Oh boy, this is going to be good!"

Vigor: "You're welcome."

The two immediately started eating. Alistair was with his back to the staircase and facing the rest of the main hall. Alia was sitting in front of him, across the table. They were not alone in the inn. There were the regular patrons who passed by after work to have a drink and a laugh before heading home and some irregular ones. A group of three stood out from everyone else. They kept throwing glances at Alistair and talking. He spotted them and they were getting on his nerves. The British kept looking at them when eating. This was upsetting them big time.

Alistair whispered to Alia: "I have a bad feeling about the three fellas over there." and pointed towards them with his spoon. Alia turned around to see them, to which she replied: "Don't mind them."

Alistair: "Is hard not to. Especially when they have that ugly look on their faces."

This stalemate kept until the two finished their food. Alia was enjoying her time, relaxing with a full belly. At one point one of the three addressed to the British officer, loud and clear: "What are you looking at, outsider?"

Alistair leaned back on his chair before replying with a defying tone: "Some idiot with no manners, obviously."

At that moment, everyone's attention shifted towards Alistair and the three troublemakers. Vigor knew what was coming. Alia was upset on Al for not ignoring them. "Are you trying to get in trouble, Al?"

Alistair: "Calm down, girl. The only ones in trouble are them if they have a bone to pick with me."

The three troublemakers got up and walked near their table. "You have a big mouth for an outsider who is eating our food for free and wants to bring an army here."

Alistair slowly got up from his chair. He reached for his knife to make sure he had it sheathed, with him. Then he checked his pistol to make sure he had it too. He took note of the three adversaries. The youngest one was in his late teens, tall and definitely intimidating to others of his age. The other two were not older than 30 either. One of them was blond, his long hair covering his head up to his ears from where a small beard continued. The last one was a bulkier dark haired man. He was one of the guards in town, now off duty. Alistair wasn't too tall, but the youngest of them was a taller by a head.

Alistair: "Lads, go away and tend to your business. Leave us alone, we'll get you out of this demon mess and you will return to your lollygagging days."

Youngest: "You talk big for someone who is about to get his ass kicked for disrespecting the locals."

Alistair: "I never respected the three of you, you grass pissers. Now move along."

Alia reached for her sword and wanted to draw it out. Alistair made a stop sign with his right hand. "Don't barge in, Alia." to which she reluctantly conformed, got up from her seat and wanted to walk away and watch the four men square off. But the tall young guy grabbed her by her left hand. "I like your blue hair, girl. Maybe want to stick to your fellow people than to outsiders?" he said, obviously trying to molest her.

Alistair suddenly felt a rush of heat from his chest to his entire body. "Don't touch her, you shit head!" he shouted before delivering him an uppercut. His head jumped back in a diagonal fashion before dragging his body to the ground. His friends immediately jumped at Alistair after witnessing the tall guy knocked out cold. The off duty guard threw a few punches, all of them blocked by the British lieutenant who was experienced in hand-to-hand combat. He took advantage of an opening and delivered a blow to the liver and one to the jaw. He had no time to watch him fall back and recover because the blond was on his flank and delivered a punch to his left head side, this throwing Alistair off balance for a moment. Tackled, he fell to the ground and the blond got on him, furiously trying to pound his face with fists. Alistair caught both his hands and broke his nose with a head punch. He proceeded to throw him to the ground and hit him two more times in the nose. By now, the guard was already up, he reached for a knife and charged his opponent with it.

Alia, fearing the worst, screamed: "Knife, behind you!". Al turned around with his pistol in his right hand, deflected the somewhat inaccurate thrust of the blade, put the barrel of the pistol to the guard's head and held him in place. "Calm down, lad. Or you will get a bullet to the head. Make one move… and I kill you."

"Do you think you can kill me with that little toy?" the tackled guard replied and tried to free himself by punching Alistair in his testicles. The latter getting very angry, prompted his gun in his foe's right shoulder and pressing the trigger. "I warned you, you idiot."

BANG! Blood painted the floor red. He didn't die but he suffered a serious injury. Everyone else in the inn jumped scared at the sound of the discharging gun. Vigor was left speechless for a few seconds. He then shook his head in disapproval to what he had just seen.

Vigor: "You are in a world of trouble now."

Alistair: "Why is that? He had it coming."

Vigor: "That idiot is part of the city guard. The lord won't let you get away with this…"

Alistair: "Well then… I guess I'll go see the lord."

* * *

 **Yokosuka Harbor**

 _Meanwhile_

In parallel to what was unfolding in the Special Region, the group arrived at the Yokosuka military harbor with the same limo that picked them up after coming through the gate. Everyone took in the smell of the salty water in the air.

Rory: "Is this where you keep your ships?"

Itami: "Yes, one of the many places. This is Yokosuka. Now, if you all look over there, that is the battleship Mikasa. She is a floating museum. Not too much to see at her. There are more interesting things over here."

Pina: "What is a battleship?"

Erwin: "Princess, let me answer your question. A battleship is a warship, mostly built from steel. They have big guns. You remember the gun you saw on my tank, right?"

Pina: "Yes."

Erwin: "Right. Well, imagine a gun in which a man could fit in. Mikasa doesn't have that kind of big guns. The 16 inch of the Iowa and North Carolina or the 18.1 inch guns of the Yamato and Musashi. To put things into perspective, if Yamato had fired on Italica's gatehouse, then there would be a huge hole in the walls where the gatehouse used to be, several meters deep and the shockwave would have been powerful enough to turn the closer buildings into rubble."

Bozes: "What!? Where is that ship? Can we see it?"

Erwin: "Unfortunately… it was sunk in battle."

Pina asked with a loud and questioning voice: "What could sink such a formidable ship?"

Itami: "Sustained attacks from enemy aircraft, Princess. No matter how big you are, when ants want to kill you… there is nothing you can do. They bite you and they bite you and they bite you and torment you and you die at some point. I can show you the Yamato at the museum when we get there."

Lelei kept looking at the newer ships of the JMSDF. Tomita was the one who was well documented in the JMSDF. He asked Lelei: "Do you want to see the new ships?"

Lelei: "Yes."

Shino: "Alright, let's go then."

Tomita: "That over there is the Ashigara, an Atago-Class Aegis guided missile cruiser. Her sister ship is the Atago, leading ship of her class."

Tuka: "She is beautiful…"

Erwin: "Indeed she is."

Pina: "How do you fight naval battles?"

Tomita: "A modern day naval battle takes place on the radar most of the time. You don't see the enemy vessels with your eyes, but you can engage them in battle."

Pina: "Huh?"

Tomita: "We have surpassed the days of close quarter brawls among fleets. Today, ships are fitted with what we call missiles. They allow us to destroy the enemy ships from distances up to… 200 leagues … I think. Was my math correct?"

Erwin: "I guess so."

Pina and Bozes were left stunned. "T-Two…hundred …leagues?"

Tomita: "Yes. Ugh… my apologies. I know this is too much for you all."

Lelei: "How did you achieve such a performance?"

Erwin: "Continuous arms race and wars in the past."

Rory looked around for Itami who was nowhere to be seen. She then spotted him near the water, staring at the horizon. She slowly made her way towards him. She stopped to his left.

Rory: "What is it, Youji?"

Itami: "Ouh, Rory… There's nothing."

Rory faced him with an upset expression on her face. "Why are you shutting yourself in? Speak to me Youji!"

Itami: "What do you want me to tell you, Rory!? That I have just lost a friend? And that I am missing Risa? I don't want to put my weight on anyone else."

Rory: "I know how you feel. But you don't have to go through all this alone. Your friends are here to help you. And who is Risa?"

Itami: "Risa is my ex-wife… You can't help a man with a love condition, can you?"

Rory's face took a sad mask and her voice changed into a sorrowful one: "I don't know… I just know how it feels…"

Itami didn't notice her change immediately, he kept looking at the horizon a bit longer before enveloping her with his left hand. "I'm sorry, Rory… I told you, I didn't mean to put my soul's weight on you."

Rory: "Is not your fault, fool."

Rory and Itami stood together in silence. The rest of the group was discussing about other ships in service with the JMSDF, ships such as the Kongo-Class guided missile destroyer, Izumo and Hyuga-Class helicopter carriers and the submarines. They had a tour of the Ashigara before deciding to try the museum's VR technology.

Rory: "Looks like everyone wants to go. Come, Itami."

Itami: "Right, better not keep them waiting."

Everyone jumped in the limo and left for the museum. Lelei, Tuka, Pina and Bozes were fascinated about what they learned and saw at Yokosuka and were eager for more. After a 30 minute ride through the city they arrived at their destination. Itami was now their guide and brought them to see the so famed VR technology. There was a guide with them to make sure everything was going alright and assist them. But it turns out Itami already knew how to use the new addition since he was here a few times before.

Itami: "Alright, everyone. Put these on your heads and step inside the room." he instructed his friends and guests. Everyone put on a helmet and stepped into a large room. The floor felt different and there were projectors and large speakers mounted on the walls. It was capable of simulating many situations and scenarios implemented in the system.

Itami: "Erwin, Tomita, you know better than me. What shall we begin with?"

Erwin: "I'd suggest starting with Rome."

Tomita: "Yes, Rome would be a good idea."

Itami: "Rome it is then."

The computer gave them a general history of ancient Rome. It showed maps, pictures of romans and legionnaires, buildings, their culture in a brief presentation. Then they selected a medieval recap of the world. Everything went smooth until it came to World War 2. Before proceeding to the medieval chapter, Erwin and Itami fought a 1 vs 1 duel using Total War: Rome II game implemented. There were other Total War titles such as Medieval II, Attila, Empire, Napoleon and Shogun II. Everyone was amazed by how realistic the Roman and Carthaginian soldiers looked on the virtual battlefield. They were even allowed to look from the soldier's perspective. At one moment, Erwin focused his camera on one unit who was being charged by the Carthaginian infantry. The game had enough gore implemented. Combine that with the screams of the men, the shaking earth beneath your feet and the noises of the battlefield. That gave Pina and Bozes real chills. That was how a large scale battle went in the old days. Pina only experienced a small siege. The images of real, big battles scared her living shit. She also noted to herself that if these people have this technology at their disposal, every person can play such a game on his own computer, scared her. Many tacticians and strategists could rise from among the common folk. Not that they are hired by any military today, of course. But that fact couldn't leave her mind.

At the 2nd World War chapter, they went through a brief review of the events. Everyone from the Special Region was shocked to see the numbers of dead people, mobilized soldiers and material losses. Pina and Bozes watched combat footage and were even put in a Tiger tank commander's hatch during the Battle of Kursk. Then they flew aboard a B-17 bomber who came under attack from German Me-109 and Fw-190 fighters. Pina and Bozes basically learned what kind of wars the people on Earth fought and how the regular soldier felt. They got to see the IJN Yamato and sail aboard her, thanks to the VR. They even saw Yamato go down under continuous air attacks from USN planes. They then decided to take the rest of the day off. Lelei, Rory and Tuka were fascinated. Such a rich culture lied on the other side of the gate, such a kind and, at the same time, gruesome people. They left the museum only when it was about to close. The group spent the evening at the hotel.

* * *

 **Special Region, Fel'kren**

Shortly after the fight in the inn, Alistair and Alia decided to pay a visit to the commanding officer of the town's guard. He then nodded and invited them in the lord's small keep. The keep is located not far from the inn, just a few minutes walk. After being introduced to the lord by the CO of the town's guard and he explaining the situation, the lord of Fel'kren takes the word.

Lord: "I'd like to hear it from the man involved in the fight. Who are you? And what happened?"

Alistair: "I'm a soldier of the British Army. Long story, we are new around here. I was having my first decent meal in a couple days when the three of them jumped at me. I beat them and wounded the one who is a guard but not on duty at the moment. He will recover with adequate medical attention. I could help him, but I refuse to do so since he had it coming."

Lord: "Don't you feel sorry for the man?"

Alistair: "Not one bit. Me and Alia are on our way south. I'd like to ask my commanders to help your people in the fight against the demons. We have the means and we can make a difference."

Lord: "You're one of the Frost Guard, aren't you, girl?"

Alia: "Yes, milord!"

Lord: "Who was your master?"

Alia: "Master Askil. I was his disciple since I was a child."

Lord: "Master Askil? Alright then. What do you have to say about this?"

Alia: "My friend here is right. We were not looking for trouble. The three jumped on us after we finished eating. He even brought a deer to the butcher to have its meat distributed to the people. And he saved my life too by killing a winged demon. His weapons are very different than ours and powerful."

Lord: "If Master Askil's disciple says you are not guilty then I will believe her. What is your name and rank in the army, stranger?"

Alistair: "I am a lieutenant. Name's Alistair. British officer."

Lord: "You are free to leave. I will see our guard punished for his actions today. I would like the two of you to come by here the next morning. I might have a job for you, that if you are as good as your friend says. Here, have a look at this when you are at the inn and see me tomorrow if you are interested."

The lord's steward handed them a piece of folded paper. The two bowed and left the room. It was a full day and all they wanted was to get some rest at the inn and see what the letter was about.

* * *

 **AN:** Thank you all for reading my story :D there you have Chapter 14. I apologize for being late with it. But I hope I made up for it by writing some more than I usually do. The next chapter will be up as soon as I have it written. Please leave your opinions, critics and ideas in the review section!

 **PS:** I apologize for grammar mistakes, I hope I fixed the mistakes I found after reading it from start to end.


	15. Ch 15 - Love & Death's Shadow

**General review reply:** I don't want to dive into WW2 atrocities because history is written by the winners. I like to take a more skeptic approach on many topics, this being one of them. The truth is that war does not say who is right, it only says who is left, and who is left is the one to write history as he damn well pleases. Nobody is a saint. Let us not get there because this kind of topics generates heated debates and we are here to relax, not argue :D

 **grievousrommel:** Told you all that I wasn't going to make the story asexual

 **The renegade soldier:** maybe they pop like this because East Europe is like 9-10 hours ahead of the Americas and since I post my stories in the evening… I guess it is morning for you across the Atlantic.

 **The Tundra Fox, MODERN ARMED FORCES:** I hope I touched your requests in this chapter, I didn't really want to dwell on that part too much because there are other stories who did way better than I could and it would also feel like re-reading what someone else wrote. I gave it a try with my style, hope you won't hate me too much.

 **Mandalore:** The crown prince and his bunny slave are never up to any good. We shall see what they are up to here.

 **AznMagicman:** You have to consider the fact that the Special Region has very… unrefined metal working methods, to put it this way. Here back on Earth, the people in Khyber Pass have knowledge of what they are doing and they have the materials in some form. In the Special Region there is no such thing. Plus the fact that Alistair does not know how to build firearms, nor does he have the time to do so. But I really liked the idea you came up with. If I wanted him to stay in the north or get stuck in there then this would have been a good idea to close the gap between their fighting capability and the supernatural monsters.

* * *

 **Chapter 15: Love & Death's Shadow in Winter's Break**

* * *

 **Special Region, Fel'kren inn**

 _D-Day + 38 days, evening_

Alistair was in his room. Not rented, but offered to them for free by Vigor. He had time to wash himself and his clothes and put them to dry up near the fire downstairs. Since there were no more customers, it was a good place to leave them to dry up. He was sitting on the chair by the small table with the paper given to them by the local lord in his hand. He unfolded it to read it. It was written in the local language and in the Empire's language. He was able to speak the Empire's language which was the most widespread language in Falmart, but reading it proved much more challenging. He admitted to himself that it was pointless.

' _I should ask Alia for help with reading this.'_

He got up from his seat and headed to Alia's room who was next to his. He knocked at the door before entering. He found his companion sitting at her table, tending to her sword. She was checking the blade. She arranged her armor neatly on the same table. It was a strange sight for Alistair to see Alia in what looked like white socks, black winter pants and a blue shirt. She looked just like a samurai wearing clothing for cold weather. She kept her beautiful hair in a ponytail.

Alia: "Are you going to just sit there and stare at me or are you coming in?"

Alistair: "Ah, sorry! Is just that I am used to see you in your armor. Where'd you get those clothes?"

Alia: "I used to live here for a while. Vigor kept my clothes for whenever I come back and stay over."

Alistair moved from the doorframe, closed the door behind him and walked up to her. As he was leaning against the table with his arms crossed, he asked her: "Why did you say him today you don't have a home?"

Alia glanced at him, slowly lowered her katana and put it on the table. Her eyes were fixed on her sword's hilt while speaking. "I have lost my home…"

"How did it happen?"

"It's a long story…"

"I have time if you want to tell me."

"You see… I wasn't interested always in taking the path of a warrior. Master Askil and my father were childhood friends. Dad loved spending time in the wilds and became a hunter. Master Askil became a member of the Frost Guard before he was 20 years old. You can say he was a genius. I was 11 when Master Askil took an interest in me. He said that my natural dark blue hair was a sign that I am destined to become a warrior of the Guard. But it wasn't until my mother fell ill and died, and my dad was murdered by a bunch of Orcs for refusing to give them his latest catch which was supposed to be our food for two days that I was taken in by Master Askil and brought up as his own child and disciple. I saw fit to become a warrior to protect the people and follow my master's teachings. We traveled together, he showed me the land and asked other masters from around the land to perfect my training. And before I knew it, my family's house was seized by the local lord for not paying taxes. Pay taxes with what coin? Vigor and Master Askil were friends for a long time now. We spent many nights at his inn and he welcomed us as family every time. I was acknowledged as a full member of the Frost Guard when I was 23. Master Askil died in the beginning of this madness, a winged demon got him when he was making his way to a temple in the mountains. He was reluctant to wear his armor and carry his blade… When I noticed that he was missing for two days, I went looking for him. And I found his dismembered body in the woods near the town where we were staying for the night… He received a proper burial, fit for someone of his rank. Then, we took it upon ourselves to banish the demons, fight every last one of them."

"You weren't too successful, ey?"

"No. We got slaughtered. The finest warriors, cut down like wheat… Nobody stood a chance against them. They could dodge our arrows with ease. Then they descended upon villages and travelers. My company were few of what was left of our order. And from my company… it is only me who is left. And that thanks to you."

"I'm sorry I couldn't make it faster…"

"You have nothing to feel bad for… He gave me this sword from his own collection. He had quite a few of them. This one was his best blade."

"I'm sorry for your loses, Alia…"

"It's in the past now."

"How old are you, girl?"

"27. Why you asking?"

"Just… curious. Here, I want you to have a look at this." Alistair says and hands her the paper. "I don't know how to read your language. I only know how to speak it."

"You are an officer in your army and you don't know how to read?"

"Oy! I don't know your language, but I can read in most languages back in my world."

"How many languages do you know?"

"Well… four languages decent. Can you tell me what that paper says?"

"Yes… well… it is a sort of bounty. 100 gold coins will be given to the people who will destroy a hive of winged demons in the mountain to the west. The beasts have been terrorizing the countryside for a while now and the numbers of victims is rising by the day. Apparently, one of the lord's scouts has traced a large group of demons to a cave which seems to house a big number of them. For more details, seek an audience with the lord of Fel'kren."

"That's fucking suicide."

"100 gold coins is a small fortune. They must be getting very desperate."

"What do you think we should do?"

"He showed this to us because I told him about how you saved us."

"Yes, you also told him I have powerful guns."

"It's your decision, Al."

"I want to help the people… killing those foul creatures would be more than beneficial for the population. And if we leave… many more will die. But we still have to make it to Alnus. If Hazama agrees to send troops over, then we could save everyone else… But if we die there then everyone else will die! Agh!"

They stood there in silence, Alia waiting for Alistair's response.

Alistair: "What would you do?"

Alia: "This is the kind of choices I always hope to never face."

Alistair: "What if you had to make a choice?"

Alia: "One needs to think with the mind and feel little with the heart. If we go there and die, then nobody will reach Alnus to get help. It is, indeed, very risky. But that would take a lot of weight off Fel'kren's shoulders. And again, if we fail… more will lose their lives."

Alistair: "What do you say?"

Alia: "I am ashamed to say this. But we need to think ahead. I believe we should get help from your army at Alnus."

Alistair: "Yeah but those 100 gold coins could buy us two horses, you know?"

Alia: "What good is a horse if there is nobody to ride it?"

Alistair lowered his voice: "You are right, girl. We leave tomorrow for Alnus."

Alia turned around from Alistair to the table and started running her index finger on her blade's edge. "Go and sleep. Tomorrow we will leave."

Alistair got up from leaning on the table. He put his left palm on her head. "Good night, girl. Rest well." and he left the room. Alistair jumped on his bed, trying to fall asleep. But his mind had other plans.

' _What am I doing? I am a soldier, I am the shield of the people. Why am I happier with turning over this task rather than accepting it? It hurts me on the inside… but I feel relieved for not deciding to go there. Am I a coward? Up until now I was sent in there and had little time to think before acting. After more than 20 years of service… do I realize that I am a coward? No… this can't be. I am never afraid for my life. Is it that I fear for her? Ah…'_

* * *

 **Tokyo, Pina & Bozes' hotel room**

 _D-Day + 39 days, morning_

The Sun was already casting its light over Japan when Bozes woke up from her comfortable bed and sweet dreams. She was in her night dress, all messed up and in dire need of some morning hygiene. Pina, on the other hand, was sitting in her bed, leaned over the nightstand.

Bozes: "Princess, what are you doing?"

Pina: "I am writing to my father. We must share with him what we learned here, Bozes. I'll travel to Italica as soon as I can after we return through the gate and send this to Sadera."

Bozes: "With what are you writing? You have no quill."

Pina: "But I have this pen!" she proudly replies to her friend and fellow knight. "This thing just keeps writing as if its ink will never end. It is quite the useful tool."

Bozes: "I see. I'll go wash myself."

Pina: "Alright."

Pina finished her letter and reviewed it.

' _Father,_

 _I am writing to you not as soldier who was sent to scout Alnus, but as your daughter. I don't remember the number of days that passed since I left the capital on my journey with my order to scout the holy hill of Alnus. Now I'm writing this letter to you from one of the Japanese inns from their world. Yes, I traveled through the gate with Bozes Co Palesti. Please make sure to tell her parents that she is alright._

 _I don't even know what to begin with. They have showed us their warships and their history. I have seen their army fight at Italica and in their past. The world we are at war with right now is far ahead of our civilization. This is a world where knowledge of all forms is widespread, a world where everyone can write books and publish them. A world whose majority of population knows how to read & write, and an ordinary teenager could make our own scholars doubt their ideas. A world who reached the Moon and is now aiming for the stars. They are unlocking the secrets of their Universe. A world without magic but far more powerful and advanced than ours._

 _They can speak to anyone using what they call the Internet. It connects people who are thousands of leagues apart in mere seconds. They have experienced their own version of the Empire, only that they called it the Roman Empire, or Rome for short. Rome has fallen 1600 years ago in this world._

 _A world with thousands of languages and more than 200 nations. Our attack on them claimed many lives. And there are more than one nations involved here. Japan has the help of the United States of America, apparently the most powerful country in their world, Italy, Germany, Canada and Great Britain. I have seen their soldiers fight at Italica. They hold no concept of honor and dignity for their enemy on the field of battle. They only have powers comparable to the gods themselves, absolutely annihilating the brigand army at Italica and our armies at Alnus. They posses Iron Elephants who can destroy an entire city in a matter of hours, Iron Pegasus who can scorch the earth, set it ablaze and stomp everything beneath them, Iron Eagles who can fly faster than and above anything we can imagine. A world with no slaves, where everyone is thought of as equal. A world who has seen atrocities and wonders._

 _Father, I took it upon myself to lay the foundation for peace talks between the Empire and Japan and her allies. I beg of you to persuade the Senate to do the same before it is too late. Our foe is very patient and kind, but it is also fierce and determined when time runs out. They can bring ruin to everything we know and love. Please think of what is best for the Empire and its people._

 _Your loving daughter, Pina Co Lada.'_

"Right! This should do it."

Just as she finished reading the letter, she heard someone knocking on the door.

Pina: "Yes? Come in."

The door slowly opened and Itami came through it. He was in civilian clothing. He had dark blue jeans, a white shirt and a black coat in his hand.

Itami: "Sorry to bother you so early, Princess. I wanted to tell you that I won't be today with you. So if you need anything ask Kuribayashi, Tomita or Erwin. They will be able to reach me should anything unexpected arise. That would be all."

Pina: "Of course… Thank you. Where are you going, Itami-dono?"

Just as he was about to speak, Bozes came out from the bathroom, wearing just her underpants, wet breasts fully exposed. She had a towel in her hand. Itami pivoted on the spot, turning his back to her and facing the door.

Itami: "Ehm… I want to see someone. Have a good day you two."

Bozes: "What did he want?"

Pina: "He came to tell us he won't spend the day with us."

Bozes: "What are we going to do today?"

Pina: "They want to show us what they call movies. Is something like a theater scene. But they are more realistic."

* * *

 **Tokyo, Risa's apartment**

 _A few hours later_

Risa, Itami's ex-wife, was sleeping with her head on her computer's keyboard. She was up all night writing her doujinshi. Her apartment was cold, she was saving money as much she could. Someone was knocking on the door but Risa didn't mind it at the beginning. She then heard it again and woke up from her uncomfortable sleep. Someone was really persistent.

' _Who could it be..? I sure hope it was worth waking me up.'_

Risa dragged her feet rather than walk to the door. She slowly opened it to see who was on the other side. From the cover of the door a familiar face appeared. When Risa saw him, she fell on his chest and he caught her in his arms.

Risa: "Oh, it is you…"

Itami: "You know, you shouldn't open your door like this to anyone."

Risa: "Mhm. You are so warm, Youji."

Itami: "Risa, why is it so cold in your apartment? I told you not to save money like this. You'll get a cold at this rate and even worse." He scolded her with a warm tone and covered her with his coat.

Risa: "Come in and turn the heat on."

"I missed you too… Risa-chan!" Itami said and then the two kissed. Risa even bit his lip. Risa pulled him inside and continued to kiss him. Itami caught a moment of freedom to draw his breath again and resume a little dialogue.

Itami: "Aren't you hungry?"

She replied with a more suave voice: "Not anymore. I'll eat later."

Itami found his way to the kitchen table with Risa clinging to him and not letting him go. He put the bag with food on the table, took Risa in his arms like a knight holding his princess and left for the bedroom. What ensued was nothing short of hot blooded romance between the two, now divorced, lovers. ( **AN:** Rated T my story, thus I will avoid the details and leave your imagination to work everything out here; let me know if your imagination fails you and I can work something up in the future)

* * *

 **Special Region, Fel'kren inn**

 _Meanwhile_

Alia was the first one to wake up. She asked Vigor to spare something for the two of them to eat before leaving and took Alistair's now dried up clothes from downstairs. She walked into Alistair's room. The man was still asleep. She put his clothes on the chair and just when she was about to leave, she saw one of his pistols. Curious, she took it and started inspecting the weapon that was powerful enough to kill the demons with ease.

' _Fine crafting. The smith must be a master to forge such beautiful steel with detailed engravings…'_

She didn't let the M1911 go until she accidentally fired it when handling the trigger. The bullet went through the wall and right outside. Alistair jumped from his bed, grabbed the M1911 he kept under his pillow and aimed it at Alia who was left stunned. The British officer noticed the gun lying down at her feet and a hole in the wall.

Alistair: "What the fuck are you doing?"

Alia: "I didn't…"

Alistair: "You bloody idiot, girl!? Do you want to get yourself killed?"

Alia: "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up."

Alistair threw down his sidearm and went to check her: "Fuck my sleep! Are you alright? No injury, didn't shoot yourself, right?"

Alia: "Stop… Stop it! Stop checking me like that. It looks… weird!"

Alistair relaxed and smiled. "If you have time to complain like that, then you are not injured."

Alia: "I'm fine…"

Alistair sat down on his bed and looked up at her. "I will teach you how to use it after breakfast. If you learn how to handle a pistol, I'll give you one. Will come in handy."

Alia's face lightened up with impatience, she really wanted to learn about these powerful weapons.

Alistair: "Stop smiling like that. You're scaring me. Let me get something to wear and then we'll have something to eat."

Just as Alistair finished dressing himself for a new day, Vigor popped up at the door, heavily breathing with a scared look on his face and an axe in his hand. Alia and Al were taken by surprise by him bursting in like that.

Vigor: "What happened!? I heard a loud noise and your voices screaming."

Alia: "Is nothing. I accidentally used one of Al's weapons. It makes this loud bang."

Vigor put his axe down and sighs in relief. "Be more careful, child. Come now, breakfast is ready. I have something to tell you."

The two followed Vigor downstairs and took seats at the same table where a day before Alistair took on three troublemakers. Vigor served them a small cheese wedge, grain porridge and bread with some water in a jug. Alistair and Alia thanked him for his generosity once more. As they were eating, Vigor put everything in order in his inn. He then sat down with them.

Vigor: "The two of you …when are you leaving?"

Alistair: "As soon as we can. The sooner we leave, the sooner we can get help."

Vigor had a worried look on his face. He sipped from his mug of ale before speaking. "A… a scout passed by earlier. The lord wants to keep an eye on that demon cave, thus he regularly sends out his few scouts. And the news he brought…are not the brightest."

Alia: "What's going on?"

Vigor: "There was a lot of ruckus over there. The monsters were restless. He saw many of them as they flew out and were headed towards the town. And frankly, the sentries spotted them as they circled above the woods, closer than ever to the walls. Maybe you should not leave right now, it is dangerous."

Alia and Alistair exchanged looks with each other. One could be forgiven if he said that they were talking without words at that particular moment.

Alia: "How many of them?"

Vigor: "Twenty beasts, maybe more. They will pick you up if they spot you in the open."

Alistair: "Why haven't they attacked towns? Alia told me they went for villages, but no towns."

Alia: "My guess is that a town has better defenses and offers more survival chances for us. And gives us more chances to take them down."

Alistair: "You have a point here. Why didn't they attack you in the woods? Why did they pick the clearing in the woods to fight you? They are in their element when they are in the open. They need to get down, very low, to fight you in a cramped environment. And they don't like it at all…"

Alia: "You surprise me with your analytical mind."

Alistair: "You don't get to live through war zones just relying on guns. But… I have a feeling that there is something foul at play here… These creatures don't seem really intelligent to me. They can't simply coordinate attacks like this on large scale against settlements, be them small villages or large towns. Don't you feel like there is something that we're missing here?"

Vigor: "They are Hardy's servants, the goddess of the underworld. Maybe they do her bidding, if that's what you are thinking of."

Alia: "Never before have gods taken this kind of actions…"

Alistair: "Hmm… We're missing something here."

Vigor: "Please reconsider leaving so soon…" he said before getting up and tending to a customer. His guests finished eating, cleared the table and went outside with the two pistols. They found a nice little spot behind the inn with nobody to bother them.

Alistair: "Alright girl. Time to learn how to shoot a gun."

Alia: "Alright. So far I only know that I gold it like this."

Alistair: "Almost there. You hold it like this." he rearranges her fingers on the grip and trigger and her posture. "This way you'll absorb the recoil with ease and maintain accuracy. Alright. Lower your hand and then raise it and aim at that particular brick over there until you get used to it."

After ten minutes, she got the hold of it.

"Good. You are learning quick. You a smart girl, you know that?"

"Do you always go around complimenting the people you train?"

"You barely started training with me and you jump to conclusions?"

"My bad… What is next?"

"Now I'll show you how to reload. You hold it like this, press on this button-like thing here… and the magazine drops out. What you see in this chamber are the bullets. This is what kills your target. Nasty thing to be shot by them. I took a 9mm once and it wasn't a pleasant experience. A .45 ACP is much tougher. Do you understand what I'm telling you?"

"Yes."

"Alright. So, after you shoot every bullet in your magazine, you press on this, drop out the empty one and insert a new full clip. Like this! Now practice until you get the hold of it."

Alia found the M1911 a surprisingly easy to use weapon as she learned how to operate it very fast.

"Now comes the part that is important. You are going to fire it. Aim down the iron sights like this. Steady your right shoulder and arm. And then pull the trigger… like this! And voila! You only get to fire it five times. I can't afford to waste ammo. The more ammo we can cling to, the better our survival chances."

Alia aimed the gun at the brick and did just as she was told. Her first shot scared her a bit. She recovered and fired two more in quick succession.

"You are a quick learner. Nice! You got two more bullets. Fire them and then reload the spare mag I gave you."

Just as Alia prepared to fire her last two rounds, two women came around the inn to see what was causing this noise. They were left stunned when they heard it upclose and saw the effects the gun had on the brick wall.

"This is a very good weapon. You can kill your enemy before he gets any chance of fighting back. No wonder you destroyed the legions at Alnus."

"You see, where I come from we fight wars with guns. Nobody is charging you with swords or maces on Earth nowadays. You wouldn't like it that much."

"Will you tell me more about your world?" Alia asked the British with light in her eyes. She was definitely very curious. But her curiosity would have to wait because they heard screams in the distance. They ran to the market area and had a look around to locate the source of the noise. It was near the western wall. Women and children were screaming and running for cover while men and guards were shouting at each other. Alia looked up at the cloudy sky only to be stunned by a wave of fear. She saw them – the winged demons hovering just below the clouds, like vultures waiting to dive on their prey. Snow started falling in that particular moment. She felt it on her face, the cold touch of snowflakes. Shivers raced across her back. It was like a metaphor, the heavens preparing them a cold carpet for tonight. Alistair noticed them too.

' _Bloody hell… FUCK!'_

* * *

 **AN:** Hello and thank you for reading my latest chapter. Renegade soldier, sorry bro, it is again early morning, ain't it? Please leave me your reviews and opinions. And in your reviews tell me what would you like to see Itami and his crew do back in Japan for the next chapter. I don't really know what to do with them right now so I thought of letting you decide. I'll then pick one of your ideas and PM you. Do you want them to do any particular thing or just skip them and see them again before going through the gate? I do have some ideas but I would like to hear you too.


	16. Last Day Of Love & First Day Of War I

**WARNING!** I know this may sound weird but beware possible spoilers for future anime episodes. I see the anime is taking the same path I have prepared for my story. At least up to some extent. I felt like I had to put this spoiler alert here. Probably, at the rate I am going, the anime will surpass my story in speed of appearance of new episodes and chapters. But who knows…

 **AznMagicman:** Alistair's context leaves little to no room for meeting great mages and dwarves :p I will attend the issue of mages in the Mountain Range of Ice and Snow.

 **The Tundra Fox:** Didn't mean it like a grudge though :p And yes, you do have a great point there. What attracted me at this anime the most at the beginning was the cultural shock everyone went through. I will try to make my best and not forget about that part.

 **the renegade soldier:** Risa and Itami are still in love with each other in the anime and manga. And they admitted that they are not your regular couple, they are different. They said it, Tomita said that too. To be fair, I don't find this an awkward situation. Marriage is something invented by us only to put a fictive, yet effective, chain on the two partners' necks. That's how it is most of the time with too many people… I will figure something out for Rory xD but I envisioned Itami and Risa from the very beginning.

 **Lwe:** Thank you, sir, for reading my story :D I'm glad you're enjoying it. I still have to catch up with the manga and the anime, as you said. I have already prepared some action in the following chapters so stay tuned :D And regarding how my story will go… hmm… imagine the anime's plot as a continuous function and my story as a function whose graph intersects the anime's in multiple points (sorry, as an engineering student, math is the only analogy that pops to my mind)

* * *

 **Chapter 16: Last Day Of Love & The First Day Of War**

* * *

 **Special Region, Fel'kren**

 _D-Day + 39 days_

"Come on, Alia! Get your blade and armor!"

"Already on it!" she replies as she runs inside the inn and upstairs.

"What is going on?" Vigor asks them, hearing screaming from outside and seeing the two burst in like that.

"Stay inside, Vigor! And hold that axe at the ready!" Alistair replied as he ran in front of him and upstairs.

Alia went inside her room, dropped her stay-in clothes and immediately grabbed her padded and fur light armor and put it on. She then started gearing up with her Frost Guard armor. She took her sword and went for her room's door. Just outside was Alistair waiting for her. He was in his British Army field uniform, black helmet, bullet-proof tactical vest, arm and knee pads, M4 in his hand. He threw her an M1911 and a few spare magazines.

"Use them wisely, girl!"

The two then ran downstairs and went outside. They had a look towards the western wall and saw the demons attacking the people, diving in on guards and civilians alike. Then they heard people in armor marching. A detachment of guards was coming from the keep's direction with what looked like an officer commanding them. They were running towards the affected area of the town, their steel plates making the classic sound of metal clinging, specific to marching soldiers or to tanks. Many of them were archers with a couple of swordsmen and spearmen. Alia and Alistair followed them through the streets.

"Get back in the house, man!" the officer ordered Alistair who he thought to be a civilian.

"He's with me and he's here to fight!" Alia replied.

They arrived in a more open area where the western gatehouse was. There were two guard towers overlooking the western road which leads to the desert provinces of Knappnai and passes through the valleys in the mountains near Fel'kren. There were corpses everywhere – dead women, children and men. Several guards were fighting off the monsters on the walls with arrows and spears.

Alistair: "INCOMING!" shouted when he spotted two of the demons diving in on them. "Take cover!"

"Form up! Shields and spears at the front!" the officer started forming his men up. The swordsmen and spearmen quickly formed a small shield wall facing the sky with swords and spears poking through the spaces between their round shields. The archers formed a line behind them, ready to take cover beneath the shields should the need arise, and aimed their bows at the two demons. They readied arrows.

"LOOSE!" their commander shouted and a volley of arrows took upon the skies. They hit the two demons right in what they guessed to be their heads. The beasts fell and tumbled on the ground, unworldly cries of pain coming out of their mouths. Alia immediately ran one of them with her sword and killed it for good. The other one was finished by a guard's spear.

"Move! Move! Move!" their officer commanded them. They broke the formation and moved to look for survivors. They checked every body. To provide cover for each other, they used the same tactic as before.

Alia and Alistair went in the other direction to look for other survivors. Everywhere around them were flipped carts and people lying around. And the loud voices of men fighting and the screeching of demons. Alistair noted on the guards they met earlier: "They are good, I'll give them that."

Alia: "Yeah! They really put their men through good training recently. There's someone moving over here! Help me."

She leaned over a woman who was bleeding. She had a hole in her left leg. She was feeling very cold and the blood was freezing around her wound. Although the cold was somewhat good at stopping the bleeding for the moment, it also threatened her with frostbite. Alistair put his rifle to his back and lifted her up.

"Alia, use the pistol to cover me! Let's bring her somewhere safe."

"Lead on!" she conformed, pulled out the gun and switched hands for the blade. Right hand was her dominant hand but she can still deal good damage with the blade in her left hand. Several guards were running around, from cover to cover, in an attempt to reach the towers where the majority of the archers were. They were bringing in ammo, quivers full of arrows. Some were lucky to get there, others were not. The demons picked apart several men.

"Faster!"

"Get in cover! Here it comes!"

"Throw that spear at it!"

"Aaagh!"

Alistair opened the door to a house and entered with the wounded in his arms and Alia closely behind them. There were five more inside, all safe and sound. They were scared when they saw this man in strange clothes bust it like that and a warrior of the Frost Guard following him. Alistair put her down by the fireplace.

Alistair: "Take care of her. Stop her bleeding and give her something to drink."

"B-But we are not doctors."

Alistair: "Just apply pressure on the wound on both sides and then use something to tie her leg where the injury is! Get to it!" He then turned around, his head not rising as proud as other times.

Alia asked him what is wrong. "What's wrong?"

Alistair whispered, not be heard by the others in the house: "She has little chances to survive. If she is not treated by a real doctor then she will suffer an infection and will lose her life. I doubt there is anyone besides a doctor who can cut her leg without jeopardizing her life too much."

"Cutting the leg is the only hope she has?"

"If she doesn't want the infection to spread in her entire body…then yes. And the leg will rot away slowly and smell really bad if she keeps it as it is before eventually killing her."

As he said his last word, a person fell through the roof. It was a guard. Dead. He had several holes in his body, one right through the heart. Alistair and Alia cursed the demons who did this and went immediately outside.

"There are too many, Al!"

"Doesn't matter, we fight 'em!" Alistair replies, knowing there is no middle option here. The hordes of demons keep coming. No matter how many he, Alia and the archers kill, they keep coming. As if there is a replacement for every dead.

"Girl! Only shoot at them when they are coming right at you! Try not to miss!"

"I know it!"

Truth be told, the monsters were easy to kill when they were at low altitude. The buildings were obstructing their movement and the tactics used by the town's guard proved efficient. A shield wall with spears, like a phalanx, to impale the monsters before it could kill them if the archers failed to take it down. Then, the infantry moves on the wounded beast and kills it. It was not an even fight by any margin. The demons had the superiority of higher numbers, agility and the power to kill any human in mere seconds. But their advantages were somewhat mitigated by the environment they were fighting in. The people were no longer in open fields of snow. They were making use of the cover the town was offering and the guards were pretty well trained for this scenario. The commander of the town's guard is a seasoned warrior. His new tactics were now proving to be of great use. Previously, the guards were acting just as a police force in Fel'kren. Now, those with several years of service under their belt in the town's guard were trained like a real soldier and fight accordingly.

A rare case. Towns in other parts of the province were not lucky to have a good commander of the guards like Fel'kren. But as good as they are, they are still taking heavy casualties. Bodies start piling up in the streets – fighters, civilians and monsters alike. Death does not care. Death is objective. It takes everyone and everyone is equal before death.

The duo of fighters were doing what they knew best – fight! His M4 sending a few bullets at a time when he knew he couldn't miss. Her pistol finding its mark on every demon that attempted to attack them head on. The bodies of the dead demons were forming a circle with Al and Alia in the middle, feeding the circle more bodies. Then they were joined by a few archers and spearmen.

"You guys are really wrecking faces here!" one archer noted on the two.

"Is that a weapon?"

Alistair doesn't even bother to look at them when he replies, he is too busy looking for targets. "Yes. M4 carbine. Bloody good weapon."

* * *

 **In one guard tower**

The inside of the tower was full of wounded civilians who managed to escape the onslaught alive and guards alike. A few of the people who have medical knowledge are tending to them. Upstairs, in the tower's highest level, archers are frantically trying to take the demons down.

"This is hopeless! There's too many of them!"

"Shut up and keep firing!"

"Watch out! Incoming!"

A demon makes a fly by and impales an archer with its spear-like limb. Its momentum was passed on to the doomed archer who was taken away in flight with the spear still sticking in him. He caught the demon that just condemned him to death with his left hand and with the right hand pulled out a dagger and stabbed it several times. Both fell to their deaths.

"Shit! Get the hell in cover!"

"Incoming from north! Kill it!"

And again… a volley of arrows flew towards the demon that was charging them. It dodged them. And then claimed another victim. They were running low on manpower.

One archer then noticed Alia and Alistair with a small group of their comrades fending off a cluster of demons hovering overhead. "Shift fire over there! Take those monsters down!". Every other archer then aimed at the cluster of demons and started peppering the area with arrows.

* * *

 **Back with Alistair and Alia**

"FUCK! Are they trying to kill us!?" the British asked with an angry tone to his voice. Then the shields formed up a small shield wall facing the tower that was firing arrows in their direction to cover the whole group from any possible friendly fire. The sustained arrow rain forced the demons to touch down.

"Shit! They are coming right at us!"

"Don't falter, men! Stand your ground!" Alia encourages the guards. She then points her pistol to the monsters and opens fire, Alistair helping her with shooting them.

"Bloody hell, I'm burning too much ammo!"

The demons use their tentacles like legs to approach them. With nowhere to go, because taking flight would bring them into the death zone of the archers in the tower, they go ahead and attack Alistair's pocket of resistance.

"Draw swords! Make ready!"

Alia switches hands, puts the M1911 in the gun holder Alistair gave her and makes ready for a bloody close quarters fight. He too makes ready for a bloody fight and fixes his bayonet on the gun.

"Here they come!" an archer shouts before putting another demon down and drawing his sword. The other guard tower joined them too in killing the monsters. Many arrows found their targets and many monsters fell before coming in striking distance of the group.

A spearmen breaks formation and pushes forward, he attempts to impale a demon with his spear but it dodged him. The next thing he felt was a sharp pain in his leg and another one in his belly. He was slain by his foe. At least, one of his friends avenged him by slaying the demon. Another guard used his shield to absorb a demon's attack and killed the monster. Alia deflected a demon's attack and cut it in half with her katana-like sword. Her beautiful dark blue hair that was flowing beneath her helmet and onto her back was dancing in the air as she dodged and attacked. She was a true swordsman, trained by some of the best. Anyone could tell that. Quick on her feet and quick to strike. Alistair was severely handicapped by the lack of range on his melee. A demon charged him and he managed to dodge its death bearing limb. He then used his M4 to put four bullets in the demon who then fell dead, black blood spurting from the wounds.

After several minutes of intense combat, they managed to kill the last demon on ground at the price of more than half of their group. It was at that moment that the demons started retreating back towards the mountains.

"They are pulling back!"

"Keep shooting arrows! Send them back into the abyss they came from!"

"Is it finally over?" Alia asked as she fell down on the fresh snow. She was tired.

"…for now… is over." Alistair replied.

The same officer they met earlier, leading a guard detachment, came to them. "Thank you, you two, you fought with great courage and skill today. We owe you, warrior of the Frost and you, stranger."

"If nothing else… it is a soldier's job… to defend… the people." Alistair replied breathing a bit heavy.

"Are you a soldier, good man?"

"Aye! That I am. Officer in the British Army. Lieutenant Alistair. Don't ask, I'm not from around these parts…"

Alia looked to the west. The demons were almost out of line of sight. "Why did they run? They could have kept it going …all day long."

"Damn headless monsters, run!"

Alistair thought about it for a few seconds. "That's the problem, they are just beasts, monsters with no brain for thinking too much. You said that they are Hardy's servants, didn't you Alia?"

"Yes."

"Chaps, I don't know what your people did to anger this god… but we are in a hell lot of trouble."

"Hardy is a goddess. Goddess of the underworld." Alia replied.

"Oh, shit! Well... something tells me we are not in the clear yet..." Alistair cursed with a loud voice.

The fighting claimed 1/3 of the guards of Fel'kren and at least 100 civilians with many more wounded. It was a grim day for the town and its people. Now the demons were descending upon the towns and soon they would attack even the largest cities.

* * *

 **Tokyo, Risa's apartment**

 _D-Day + 39 days, evening_

Risa was snuggling in Itami's arms. They were both sitting on the sofa in warm winter clothes and watching TV. She then rested her head on his chest.

"You know, Youji… I started to believe you were not coming back."

"Life's too interesting to die now, Risa-chan."

"I don't like the idea of you going out there in that alien world, fighting an enemy we know very little about."

"Ah, but it is very beautiful out there, you know? You would love it. I even considered of building a cabin there and live my life in peace."

"You would live a short and boring life alone."

"Who said I'd stay alone?"

"Hm? Did you find yourself someone in the other world!?"

"No! No. Is not what I meant. I made a few friends, you know? There's this elf Tuka, the mage Lelei and the demigoddess Rory."

"And which one do you like the most?"

Itami gave her a confused look. "You, of course!"

"Baka! I know that. I want to know from the three you just enumerated."

"Heh!? Well… Lelei is out of question as she is just 16. Tuka is beautiful, but kind of oblivious and too childish for her age."

"How old is she?"

"165."

"EEH!? You joking, right?"

"No. And Rory is 961. They said that on TV too when we were reporting before the National Diet."

"Youji, you know that I don't follow the news too much."

"Right, I forgot that. So, Risa-chan, what do they say about us back home?"

"Well… there are those who want to make the military look bad and will say anything for it. And then there are those who defend the military and approve your actions. But international pressure is on the rise and the U.N. wants observers in the Special Region. And reporters too…"

"Ah, is it that bad?"

"I believe they should stay out of it… After all, it was an attack on Japan and we have every right to defend ourselves. And good thing some countries help us."

"Politics and a struggle for resources. Ah… I missed the quiet and relaxing feeling you get in this room… And your warm embrace." Itami said and gave her a kiss on her forehead.

"When are you leaving?"

"The day after tomorrow. There's going to be a lot of fighting in the following days. Many may never return home."

"I don't care so much about the many as I do about you. You better make it back home, Youji. Or you will make me very, very upset."

"Upset because you won't have my pay anymore?"

"Hm… that would be inconvenient too…"

"Hehe! I'll come back, don't you worry."

"Promise me that you will come back."

"I promise you that I'll come back."

"Ah! Much better… I'm tired… let's go to sleep, Youji."

"Go ahead, I'll make a call and I'll follow you."

"Who are you calling?"

"A German tank commander that was attached to my unit. His name is Erwin. I've left him in charge at the hotel we were staying at with the girls from the Special Region."

"Don't be late…" she says and teases him with a soft kiss. Risa then leaves the living room yawning. Itami pulls out his cell phone and dials Erwin's number.

Erwin: "Hello?"

Itami: "Oy, Erwin. Didn't think you'd be awake at this hour."

"We watched movies all day long and we just had dinner. How you doing?"

"I'm doing really good, thanks."

"I know you are doing really good, it was a rhetorical question."

"Oy, you…"

"Just joking."

"So, what movies did you watch?"

"Well, some good old ones. Tomita insisted on the movie _Battleship_ , you know the one with aliens invading Hawaii and the Missouri squaring off with an enemy ship… They were pretty scared and amazed at what an old school warship can do. And not to forget that they thought some of the actors died for good… Then we watched _Lord of The Rings_. They really loved it. Thought of it as history but then we explained it was all fictional. Then followed up by _Interstellar_ which proved a bit of a bump in explaining some scientific theories and concepts… Lelei payed too much attention and I think I just accelerated their knowledge of the Universe…"

"Erwin, what the hell?"

"Don't worry! It may not be that bad."

"And? What next?"

"Aaand the last two were _Finding Nemo_ … yeah a bit of an anticlimax there. And _V for Vendetta_."

"Not a bad choice. Nice! So, what are your plans for tomorrow?"

"Everyone wants to go out so I'll join them. Going to a mall close to the hotel."

"Ah nice. I think I'll join you tomorrow with Risa if she feels like going out."

"Alright. We'll be there at 1030 hours."

"Thanks. See you tomorrow. Good night, Erwin."

"Good night, Itami."

He then turns his phone off and joins Risa in bed.

* * *

 **AN:** Hello and thank you for reading. I think I'll post chapter 17 by tomorrow :D so stay tuned. And please review, leave ideas for the future if you have any and your opinions. I decided to split this chapter in two and i will write part two after i wake up. 1:43 am here... sorry, will need to rest or i will end up writing some weird things rather than what i want to. Please review with your opinions!


	17. Last Day Of Love & First Day Of War II

**AN:** By saying beware of spoilers I meant to journalists :p I had been planning to have them included in my story too. And what do you think of Mack's notebook? Do you find the entries…useful to the story? They are not meant to be straight forward with their meaning. Tell me in your reviews what you think of the entries. And regarding that demon invasion, you will get some clues of what is going on this chapter. You know what Hardy is actually up to, you just don't know that you know it. I took that small conflict from the anime (and manga) and made it something much more important in my story.

 **Junior VB, giselleavellaneda09:** Thank you for following and reading my story. Here is the next chapter

 **Mandalore:** Not really into talking about the scientific progress of the Special Region :p you know that Lelei remembered some concepts but there is no guarantee that some rules of physics are available in their world since they have magic and that could really change some things.

 **plantkingman1:** That is up to everyone's imagination

 **recordman:** First, we have to get them there, up north. Btw, I am talking about the Battleship movie in which that American singer girl played. Dunno' if there are other movies with the same title.

 **Sigma del Prisium:** Thanks for reading and following my story! I don't know how I will get past that because every language has its …grammar and conventions. I kinda found it strange too because you are the first one to point it out. I will try to write differently, but I may be forgetting about it sometimes.

 **carlos olivera** **:** Thank you too for reading my story :D and liking it that much. But I will not bring in Italian heavy weaponry. The air support will be assured by the U.S. and JSDF.

* * *

 **Chapter 17: Last Day of Love & First Day Of War II**

* * *

 **Alistair's dream**

Alistair was deep asleep with his body, but his mind was not so restful. He had weird dreams the whole night. The same kind of dream kept appearing.

' _How the hell did I get in this cave..? Where am I?'_

He had a look around, a large cave with torches on the walls, a cave that runs deep into the earth. He stands up and moves forward.

' _Why am I moving? It's not like I want to… My feet are moving on their own. What!? Why the fuck am I in a bride's dress?'_

In his dream, he was wearing a white bride's dress every time. He walked and walked into the cave until he came to a large room sculpted in the rocks. There was a large table of rock in the middle with food on it. There were two seats facing each other.

' _What kind of sick homo mage did this!?'_

He then heard a feminine voice. "Welcome, my dear!". He wanted to speak, to ask who is there, he wanted so bad to scream but his lips failed to move and all he did was scream in his head. "It took me some time, but you are finally here. If only the others would stop bothering me so much…I could have married you long ago." the unknown voice spoke again. "Have a seat! Let us eat."

Alistair sat down on one of the stone chairs. He wanted to move, his body didn't respond to his commands. He was like a spectator in his body. Then, on the other chair, from thin air, a womanly figure materialized. White hair, tall and thin stature, brown eyes and a slim face. Its skin was brown too. Alistair felt uneasiness in her presence. He felt something was really wrong with this person. The woman reached for a knife, cut some meat from the roasted turkey and wanted to feed it to Alistair who hesitated and refused to eat. She then grabbed a bottle with blood-red wine and poured into a cup. But it didn't bring the feeling of being wine, he was sure it was something else.

"Here, I know you love this."

Alistair began to struggle to the moment where he took control of his body.

"What, don't you want your most favorite thing..? Wait… YOU ARE NOT MY BRIDE! WHO ARE YOU!?"

"Get lost, you crazy woman!" he shouts as he tears his dress off.

"You… You are dead! That was for my future wife!"

"I am not a woman!"

"You. Are. Not. My. Love!" were her last words before she materialized a spear in her hand and ran Alistair through his chest with it. He felt the sharp pain as if he was killed for real. "I will take your soul and everyone else's! NOW DIE!" she shouted and everything faded to black immediately.

* * *

 **Special Region, Fel'kren Inn**

 _D-Day + 40 days, morning_

Alistair woke up sweating. He had this weird dream all night long and couldn't sleep well. He woke up just as tired as when he went to bed. He had a look around, just to make sure he is in his room and not in some creepy place. His uneasiness slowly flushed away. On the blanket he used to cover himself with was Mack's notebook, still open. Alistair was curious to read more of it but fell asleep.

 _'Entry IV:_

 _No will to wake for this morn'… to see another black rose born.'_

' _What was this kid writing about?_ ' he asked himself. _'He sure seems to be the philosophic kind. Well… I can only try to understand some of the things he means to say.'_

' _Entry V:_

 _And then I loved her… I grew very fond of her. I gave her all my soul for she knew how to nurture it. I was like an open wound who enjoyed staying open. But then the wound would never close when she left for an early grave. Now my madness deepened and has taken darker shades. You can find both freedom and safety in your madness; the freedom of loneliness and safety from being understood, for those who understand us enslave something in us.'_

"I never loved like you, kid. I fear I won't make sense of what you wrote here." Alistair spoke, imagining Mack alive as the notebook he left behind, a notebook with his thoughts.

' _Entry VI:_

 _Threatening people with unimaginable torture in hell for all eternity if they don't love and worship you is not love. It's blackmail. Punishing people with unimaginable torture in hell for all eternity is not love, it's psychopathic and sick.'_

He closed the notebook and put it in his bag, got up from bed and checked his equipment. Rifle still there, M1911 at the ready and ammo. "Ugh… 7 clips for the M4 and 5 for the M1911. This sucks… Alia has 2 clips. Hmm…"

The door opened and Alia sneaked her head through. "Did I just hear my name?"

"Oy! For how long have you been sitting there?"

"Why the hell do you always presume I am creeping at your door?" she asked with a smile.

"I think that's the second time you come in like that."

"Does it bother you?"

"Ehm… Not really."

Alia kept the smile on. "Good. Now, why did I hear my name?"

"Because you have good hearing?"

"Yes. Now that we cleared that, let us move on. Why did you say my name out loud when you were alone in your room?"

"Checking inventory and thinking out loud."

"I don't know if I should be flattered that you are thinking of me or …or creep out."

"Ah, damn you! I said you have two clips."

Her face went a bit red. "What!?"

"You have two clips, right?"

"What are you getting at? Of course I have two, I'm a woman. Don't you see them here?" she asks while touching her breasts.

"What…are you doing?"

"Oh, right! Now pretend nothing happened."

"Girl… you drunk?"

"You pervert, stop talking about my breasts with your imaginary friend!"

"WHAT!? I was talking about the spare magazines for your M1911! I think you are the pervert here, thinking that I was talking about your breasts." Alistair replied and folded his arms.

Her cheeks turned red even more. Alistair found the mix very lovely – her dark blue hair and red cheeks.

"Really, Alia. I thought you were better than that." Alistair teases her now that he knows what is going on.

"I'm not like that, Al!"

"You just proved me the contrary – that you are like that. But you know, I wouldn't mind."

"Now who is getting dirty now?"

"Ah, can't be helped. Your dirtiness is contagious."

In that moment she turned around and wanted to walk out, only to be stopped by Alistair's hand on her shoulder.

"Just joking." he assures her with a smile. "You're lovely when your face is all red, you know? Makes for a nice color palette on your face."

Alia turned on the spot to face him again. She stared him in the eyes for a few seconds. Alistair started to feel uneasy. She then exposed more and more of her left breast by pulling the shirt she wore. Alistair couldn't help himself but stare at her chest for three full seconds before Alia covered it again.

"Hah! I win!" she shouts and runs downstairs.

"Breakfast is ready." Igor's voice reaches his ears. Alistair sighs and walks downstairs. _'Am I actually into her that much?'_

He takes a seat at a table with Alia and Vigor.

"Good morning. Slept well?" the innkeeper asks Alistair.

"Not really…" he replies and keeps looking at Alia who is eating her food.

"Why are you looking more tired than rested?" Vigor asks him again.

"I had the same dream all night long. Or nightmare. Yes, nightmare – that is the right word."

"What was it about?"

"If I tell you, you'd laugh at me."

"Could it be more amusing than before?" Alia asks him.

Alistair glances at her. "Alright! I was getting married to a woman and I was her wife judging by the bride's dress."

Alia drops her spoon and barely restrains herself from laughing. Vigor swallowed his food harder and coughed. They were taken by surprise.

"And I was being killed at my own wedding for not drinking with my…wife." Alistair adds. Alia was laughing by now.

"You are one crazy pervert, Al." Alia laughs at him again.

"Child, please… I'm sorry, Alistair. It was …really unexpected." Vigor steps in before Alia roasts Alistair even more.

Alia doesn't back up. "Having weird fantasies… being wife to a woman… I don't want to know who would take the role of the mother and who will be the father. But since you're wearing the bride's dress…"

Alistair feels like entertaining her more would be more beneficial. "I always thought I'd wear white if I was going to join the Navy, not at my own weird wedding."

Vigor then raised an eyebrow in confusion. "White?"

"Yes. Women usually wear white dresses at their wedding."

"Maybe where you are from… Here, women usually wear a blue dress at their wedding. And, depending on how much money you have, it can be simple with a few motives on it or be more extravagant."

"Well, Vigor, Al here is innocent. That is why he is wearing white in his dream." Alia starts again.

Alistair smiles to her with an aura to his expression. "I'll show you innocence one day, girl."

"I'm looking forward to it… Al." she replies, drinks her water and goes to clean her plate and mug.

Vigor felt relieved that Alia was not here anymore, talking weird things to Alistair. "So, how comes you are killed in your dream?"

"That woman said I was not her love, I was not her bride. She then made a spear appear from thin air and goes for my chest to kill me."

"Hmm… How does she look like?"

"White hair… brown skin, brown eyes… tall and thin."

Vigor paused everything he was doing. He sunk his eyes in the table.

"What's wrong?" Alistair asks. Then Alia pops back into the main hall. Vigor calls her near them.

"Alia, child… describe to me how Hardy is usually depicted."

"Why are you suddenly interested in this?" she asks Vigor.

"Please. I just have to check something. You know I'm not as educated as you and not as sharp with the mind at my age."

"From what I've seen in one shrine dedicated to her and from what I read in one of Master Askil's books, she is depicted as a woman with draconian aspect, white hair, brown skin and her eyes are brown too, clay brown."

Alistair froze in place. Alia stood there following their body language. She then realized. "Wait a minute! Did you dream Hardy?"

"It might seem so… And I guess that the fact that it was unfolding in a cave has something to do with her being goddess of the underworld, right?"

"That can't be good, Al…" Alia notes with a worried tone to her voice.

"Just fucking great… Bloody hell!"

* * *

 **Tokyo, train station**

 _D-Day + 40 days, 0950 hours_

Erwin, Tomita, Kuribayashi, Pina, Bozes, Lelei, Rory and Tuka were waiting for the train to take them to Tokyo, their hotel being located closer to the outskirts of the metropolis. There were other people in the station but they were not paying attention to the group.

Erwin: "Right. Today we travel by train and meet up with Itami at the mall. Plenty of things to do there but not enough time."

Everybody was eager to get there. Pina and Bozes were intrigued by this large place of trading the people on Earth called a _'mall'_. Lelei was always analyzing her surroundings. Tuka and Rory were busy chatting. As everyone was waiting for their train, on the third line a military train appeared. It was going towards Tokyo, packed with military hardware.

"Milady, look! Iron Elephants!" Bozes said when she saw the tanks loaded on the first wagons. They were M1A2 Abrams and Type 74 tanks in green camouflage. The train was not in a hurry, moving at low speed. The tanks were followed by wagons filled with soldiers. Then came the ammo crates, other supplies and a few trucks.

"Where are they going?" Pina asked.

"My guess is that they are going through the gate. Heard they were expecting these days more vehicles and soldiers for the offensive." Tomita replies.

"How many of these …tanks do you have?" the royal girl asked again.

"By the tens of thousands if you count only Japan, Italy, USA, UK, Germany and Canada. There are hundreds of thousands in the whole world." Erwin replies.

Pina bites her lips. There are too many feelings and thoughts assaulting her. She wants to protect the Empire, she wants them to win. But she knows they can't win. Right now, as they are welcomed as guests in Japan and are told information of military nature, the coalition is actively preparing an offensive against the Empire. She goes shopping and her country is fighting a war. She has relaxed and watched the military buildup of the Earth armies. What does this say about her? Is she worthy of the position of princess and pretender to the throne after doing all this?

The last two cargo wagons were loaded with what Erwin guessed to be two F-4 Phantoms. Then, their train arrived and everybody got in.

"Is this how you travel long distances in your world?" asked Lelei.

"Yes. But it depends on how much money you are willing to spend. The fastest method to cover long distances is to travel by plane. You can get from one continent to another in 10 hours."

"10 HOURS!? This is absurdly fast!" was everyone's reaction. They are used to walk or ride for days back in the Special Region in contrast to Earth.

"How did you get this performance?"

"Science, you little wizard." Erwin answers with a happy face that he could answer them so many questions. "But, Lelei, you have to discover for yourself all the things our civilization uncovered. Giving you too much information could bring you more trouble than you think. It is better to learn for yourself than be taught. This way you will learn about the dangers and actually care about them."

"Dangers?"

"There are so many dangers in science's applications. I, personally, refuse to offer you the knowledge I posses because this will put your world in danger." Erwin explained.

"Ugh, Lieutenant Erwin…" Shino grumbled.

"What is it?"

"I don't mean any disrespect, you know… but it is stupid the way you make it sound like you know it all." she complained.

Erwin giggled. "Eh, my apologies, Kuribayashi. But the knowledge an average decent educated man has could revolutionize their world. And I do know a lot of things from many fields of science. Long live the Enlightenment!"

"What is this enlightenment, Erwin?" Rory asked.

"It was a movement and philosophy 400 years ago, I think. They were promoting reason and the polyvalent education of people in more fields than one. This is why in today's schools they teach kids mathematics, literature, grammar, biology, chemistry, history, geography… what else is there…?" Erwin remained thinking.

"Princess, maybe we should do the same back home." Bozes whispered to Pina.

"It would be a good idea." she replied to her adjutant.

Tomita overheard the two. "Miss Bozes, Princess Pina. That would be a bit hard for you."

"Why would that be?" Pina asked.

"Well, for a start I doubt you have many well educated teachers. You need a large number of them and the adequate infrastructure and economy. That is a first. Then there would be the interest from the people." Tomita explained to the two.

"Lelei, Princess, I have a question for you." Erwin barged in.

"Hmm?" the two oriented their attention to the German tank commander.

"I doubt you discovered calculus." Erwin began. The two shook heads. "Basic principles of heat propagation. Gravity. Atoms. Not even getting started with electricity…" were a few of Erwin's enumerations who were received with negative head shake from the guests. "You still have a lot to go…"

"Here we are, guys. This is where we get off." Shino makes them aware.

They get off the train and walk towards the mall. In front of the entrance they met Itami and Risa waiting for them. Rory noticed him and walked slowly to be behind the group, her presence shielded by the rest.

Erwin: "Yo, Itami!"

Itami: "Hey guys! How you doing?"

Erwin: "Very well I could say. Who is this lady?" he asked referring to Risa.

Itami: "Everyone, this here is Risa, my ex-wife. Risa, these are Erwin, Tomita, Kuribayashi, Tuka, Lelei, Bozes, Princess Pina and Ro… Where's Rory?". Everybody looked around them and moved aside for Itami to see Rory behind them. Itami continued: "And Rory… What's wrong, Rory?"

Rory: "You wouldn't know, Youji."

Kuribayashi: "EEEH!? So you really were married?"

Risa jumped in and shook everyone's hands with a big smile on her face. "Pleased to meet you all! So you are the girls from beyond the gate. I must say you are all quite cute. I wonder how comes Itami didn't fall in love with one of you."

Itami put his hands on Risa's shoulders and slowly pulled her next to him. "Yo, Risa. Don't get overexcited. Let's go in, guys."

They didn't walk ten meters in and they already came face to face with a bunch of people wearing samurai armor. They all came to a halt when they saw the reenactors doing their work.

Pina asked: "I thought you were not using swords anymore… Who are they?"

To which Tomita replied: "Yes, we don't. They are looking exactly like samurais. Ehm…guys, is this a reenactment?" he asked the men wearing the armor.

"Yes, we are enthusiasts of the Sengoku Era. And don't worry, this is not a real katana. It's blunt. I, on the other hand, am a real samurai – a tradition passed on in my family trough the father." The man who seemed to be their leader answered.

Tuka: "So, you mean to say you are wearing this armor and using swords to remember of the past?"

"Quite so, young lady. It is a much better way to teach others about the samurai life style and history. We also teach the people about the samurai code – Bushido."

Pina: "Tell me more about the samurai."

"You see, from the earliest times, the Samurai felt that the path of the warrior was one of honor, emphasizing duty to one's master, and loyalty unto death…" he continued to explain to the girls. Meanwhile, Erwin dragged Itami aside to talk to him in private.

Erwin: "Itami, I got news regarding the search and rescue of the missing British soldiers."

Itami: "What news?"

Erwin: "I spoke to the general before leaving with you, Tomita and the girls to Japan. And then news arrived this morning. And it seems that the general is keeping his word. He ordered two extra modified F-4s for long range operations. He wants to send them north to look for Alistair and the other three. At least establish radio contact with them."

Itami's face lightens up big time: "This is great news, Erwin!" and pats Erwin on his back.

Erwin: "Hold on. The bad part is that even if we get in touch with them… we won't be able to send anyone to get them. We have nothing currently at Alnus capable of going 2,000+ kilometers. We have no choppers to get them or airfield to land a C-2 and retrieve them by air. We'll have to send a convoy by ground."

Itami: "Well, at least we'll be able to drop them some supplies."

Erwin: "You are always trying to look for the bright side of everything, ain't you?"

Itami: "Yep! Man… I can't believe this is our last day home."

Erwin: "Well… duty waits for nobody. We'll go north and scout the Romaria Mountains. Maybe we can get in touch with the locals there and plot a route further north to reach the missing four."

Itami: "How did you enjoy your stay?"

Erwin: "Very well. Spoke to my family, sent a letter and enjoyed the little of Japan I got to see. You know, Risa is quite lovely. Is she always full of energy like this?"

Itami: "She is more happy to meet the girls from beyond the gate. Otherwise she is more laid back."

Erwin: "Perfect match for you."

Itami: "Come Erwin, let's have all a drink before the shit hits the fan."

After the samurai's presentation, they left all to drink and eat together before they split in groups and explored the stores.

* * *

 **Special Region, Fel'kren inn**

 _D-Day + 40 days, evening_

Alistair fell asleep during the day. He was too tired. Hardy's dreams didn't give him any rest during the night. But he had another weird dream.

 **Alistair's dream**

'Wha… Bloody hell.' he thought as he found himself in another dream, this time being very conscious inside the dream. He found himself in a dark dimension. Every time he made a step, he could feel that he's stepping in something liquid. Then he heard a voice speaking and a large halberd revealed itself in a light.

"Don't resent me too much, soldier. You will one day come to me if you die on this site of Hardy's gate. And that day may not be far from now on. Don't resent me too much for choosing you and your friends. I didn't want Hardy to take someone I hold kind of dear. I immediately substituted her cart with yours. At least Hardy knows how to give me a good laugh!" the voice spoke with a serious tone before turning into a demented laughter.

"And don't worry. The blood will remain on you only in this dream." it spoke again.

A light was shed upon Alistair only to reveal that he was standing in a pool of blood. "WHAT THE FUCK!?"

"Yes! Yes! You are amusing me! Now go, soldier! Go and kill. Go and perpetuate violence! Tomorrow you fight again! Ahahahahaha!" he spoke before ending Alistair's dream.

 **End of dream**

Alistair woke up suddenly from his dream with a scream of anger. He was breathing hard again. He then turned on his left side in bed. _'What the fuck!? Now I'm just a plaything for some mad gods!?'_

Alia came through the door with her sword at the ready in mere seconds. Alistair jumped from his bed when he saw her. "Oy, girl! What are you doing with that?"

"I heard you screaming."

"Ah, is nothing… Please don't do it again, it scares me like hell."

"What?"

"Don't jump in here like that with a katana in your hand."

"It is not a katana."

"Back on Earth we call that a katana, so it is a katana."

Alia then sheathed her blade and used it as a pole to lean on it with her right hand. Alistair then got up and invited Alia to take a seat to which she accepted. He then asked her: "Alia… what would you make of it if I told you that two crazy gods are toying with us?"

She gave it a few seconds to think before coming with an answer: "I would ask you why you would think of that."

"Let us say I don't know how to answer your question and insist on my first question."

"I would not give them the chance to do as they please with me."

"But you are caught in the middle and have little in the way of escaping this. More like you can't escape."

"I get through it and don't give up for their amusement."

"Why is insanity such a pain in the ass?"

"Probably because nobody can understand it. Nobody but the afflicted. And too often, not even them."

"Tomorrow we will fight again… They will be back."

"That is bad…"

They stay in silence, reflecting upon the following day. Alistair then looks at his bag and takes Mack's notebook from inside it. Alia notices it and is curious about it. "What is that?" she asks.

"This belongs to one of the three who were with me… A young lad. Name was Mack. Died. He entrusted me to get this to his parents. And he called himself… a mad man."

"How so..?"

"Maybe I'll read you what he wrote here… Tell me, how do you cope with the death of your friends in this mess?"

"I simply accept their demise and find a goal to fulfill. I accept their deaths and try to get over it. It is a fighter's life, a soldier's life… to see people die and accept it. And I feel like meeting you helped me get over it. Will you read me what your friend wrote in the notebook?"

Alistair opens it where he last left reading. "He collectively named these entries _'A World Of Shame & Glory'_".

' _Entry VII:_

 _There is blood on my hands of all the feelings I killed, of infant attractions choked before they could breathe. There is smoke on my lips for every affection declared that I rolled within a piece of paper and watched it burn between my teeth. What can I say? I was always scared to love…'_

He paused immediately after reading it out loud and dropped the notebook in his lap without realizing it. His eyes were fixated on his hands. Not him, not Alia were muttering a word. Many questions were crossing his mind. _'Mack… who actually are you? Are you me or is it you?'_

Alistair closed his eyes and let his hands fall. Something inside him vibrated with these words he just read. But his thought train was suddenly cut short when he felt something warm on his lips. He opened his eyes only to find Alia kissing him. He wanted to speak but she didn't let him. When Alia broke the contact, Al wanted to ask her what was going on. She put her hand on his mouth and whispered: "Why should I stain my hands with more blood? I may not even be alive by this time tomorrow to do it. Shh…"

Alia leaned on him, pressing their bodies together. Alistair gave in to her, he knew that he would not be able to restrain himself since he was falling for Alia already. He got aroused and she felt it. She didn't want to give him any quarter though. She slowly took her shirt down and helped him undress too. Before they know it, they were together in bed making wild love to each other.

* * *

 **AN:** Alright chaps, here is Chapter 17. Please leave me your opinions in the reviews :D and I will apologize right now because the following chapter will take a few days until it is up. Next two days are occupied by study. Probably in 4-5 days I will post Ch 18.


	18. Ch 18 - Drums Of War

**AN1:** Last two chapters' names (Last Day Of Love  & First Day Of War) is a reference to one of the novels I actually like, one of the few great Romanian novels – _The last night of love, the first night of war_. It is about the superior man, the always curious genius who seeks the absolute and analyzes everything. The protagonist's name is Stefan Gheorghidiu and the psychological novel illustrates his evolution, from graduating faculty, to marrying and loving, to going to fight in World War I (he thought that the experience of the war is something he can't miss, he wanted to know how it feels and add it to its experiences and knowledge), to divorcing. Great novel, I really recommend it to you if you find it in English on the internet. Even the title emphasizes the entire novel – in the literal meaning of the words and also suggesting the internal struggle of the main character. The author was a Romanian soldier during WW1.

 **AN2:** I decided not to go the same way the anime will go with the reporters and change their plot within my story.

 **ATP:** I know what you mean to say and I will argue that it is not a bad thing to learn a little from everything. The education system is still fucked up big time in most countries and it is in dire need of change. But why change it when the majority of the kids conform and become robots? Ah… as the title says: a world of shame and glory. And as that quote goes, "If you want to know who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize."

 **recordman:** Regarding Pina, what I wanted to say is that she is eligible to become empress of the Empire and if circumstances are favorable, she will do so. And by polyvalent I mean people educated in every field, teach them a little of everything and then they choose what to do in their future, what path to follow. I certainly enjoyed learning about most fields of science + history and geography, but I took the path of IT.

 **DBDQuitDistress, ExpertUS** : Thank you! You shall all have more chapters.

 **Rayman** : Thanks for reading!

 **TheGamerTwilight:** Well, this wasn't going to be a story just about war, hehe!

 **AznMagicman:** Considering France is dealing with terrorism and refugees and doesn't look forward to sending troops through the gate .. :p

 **Newbie:** The SAS will not make any appearance, sorry guys. I didn't plan to add any special forces such as the SAS / Spetsnaz / Delta Force. But as the always available truth goes – everything is subject to change.

 **AGENT MUTE:** Didn't actually plan on other countries, sorry.

 **the renegade soldier:** As long as I know you read my story I am happy :D sorry about Rory though, don't worry, nothing is set in stone. I said it, I rated my story T for teens (13+) – that leaves little to no room for something explicit. I suggest it, but do not explicit it.

 **DekerVke:** Well, I wanted to bring in Poland and Romania too because of their relationship and goals within NATO but then I remembered "Oh shit, Russia and Ukraine are going down, so it would make more sense for them not to dispatch any of their military to another world in the current geopolitical context". And thank you for reading and loving my story so much :D On your requests… I won't make any promises to be honest. And don't even worry about your English, it is better than 90% of those who have English as their first language. Greetings from the Romanian author of this story!

 **metal-head111:** I had planned for them to see a Nimitz-Class carrier at Yokosuka but I totally forgot about it when I was writing it :'( sorry. I noticed after I posted it…

 **Artyom & Guest:** I said that they (Italians) will be in the action, I didn't say the chapter in which they appear. But it will be very soon. Regarding on how the gate works in my story – I shall think of it. I'm thinking of just leaving it be.

* * *

 **Chapter 18: Drums Of War**

* * *

 **Alnus Base, Airfield**

 _D-Day + 41 days, early morning_

The Sun was barely creeping its way on the sky when the military personnel stationed at Alnus was already up and making ready for a new day.

The airfield was set up and fully operational faster than initially expected. There were five A-10 Warthogs from the USA and four F-4 Phantoms of the JSDF parked in their small hangars with two other F-4s on the runway. They were equipped with extra fuel tanks and were preparing to take off. There were helicopters too, but they were parked somewhere else.

Control Tower: "This is Tower to Seeker One and Seeker Two, last check up."

Seeker One: "Seeker One here, reporting. All systems fully operational. Fuel at maximum, check. Ammo for the 20mm Vulcan cannon, check. Supplies package, check. AAMs, check. Good to go."

Seeker Two: "Seeker Two, reporting. All systems fully operational. Check on everything."

Control Tower: "Copy that, Seekers. Remember, your mission is to establish radio contact with the missing British soldiers and drop them the supplies if possible. It will be a a long ride 'till the northern provinces so enjoy your ride. You are clear to take off. Remember to drop the extra fuel tanks when they are empty."

Seeker One: "Thanks, Tower! We'll keep in touch. Seeker Two, on me."

Seeker Two: "Copy!"

The two Phantoms took off the runway and went for the heavens and on a course that takes them north. They will fly over Italica and the Romaria Mountains on their way there.

* * *

 **Alnus Base, Gate**

 _D-Day + 41 days, 0900 hours_

Itami, Kuribayashi, Erwin, Tomita, Pina, Bozes, Lelei, Rory and Tuka returned to the Special Region. They were welcomed by Yanagida and the rest of RCT3. The girls immediately left for their rooms to deposit the things they bought from the mall and show it to their friends. Erwin was greeted by his crew who arrived at Alnus with _Hussar Three_ – their Leopard 2A6 tank. Jackson was also there with Kuwahara a.k.a. Pops. Lewis was joining them again since his burns healed enough for him to return to active duty. Itami smiled at the sight of his team. But he then felt the pain striking his guts, wherever his eyes gazed they could not find Alistair. _'Ah… right… he is missing.'_ Itami thought. Then he remembered what Risa told him last evening: _"Come back, Youji. This is an order! And try to bring everyone else back. But you must return, no matter what, Youji Itami!"._

' _Risa-chan, I will not leave you alone like that. Not if I have a choice.'_

"Welcome back, everyone. Break's over, Itami. Here are your orders." Yanagida says as he hands a few documents to Itami. "You are to make ready to leave for Italica, and from there up north. You have 2 hours to make ready to leave."

Itami: "Jumping right into action?"

Yanagida: "Duty waits for nobody."

Itami: "Thanks. Hey, Yanagida. What happened the past few days around here?"

Yanagida: "Well… nothing much. People started to make an appearance around here and the Coda refugees are considering if they should build an inn near the base and a store to sell dragon scales. They keep gathering them from the dead wyverns. Who knows, maybe this is the foundation of a small town. Then they sent two jets to look for the missing four British soldiers. And last preparations were made for the breach to the Duma Mountains."

Itami: "When will the operation begin?"

Yanagida: "Tomorrow at 1200 hours Bravil will be hit and temporary occupied. After securing the town, we will push forward to secure the pass through the mountains, that is Appia highway. According to Inigo, that road leads directly to the capital of the Empire. We'll be within striking distance of their capital if this operation is successful."

Itami: "Yanagida… I have a bad feeling, like something big and bad is going on…"

Yanagida: "I'm pretty confident. True, the mountains are covered by forests for the most of it and it is good terrain for guerilla warfare. Yet these people don't seem like the type to conduct guerilla warfare. An Empire too infatuated with itself. I don't see them trampling their pride."

Erwin overheard Itami's and Yanagida's discussion and couldn't help himself but note on Yanagida being too naïve. "Lt Yanagida, they may be used to fighting in the field and claiming victory and honor and pride this way. But don't underestimate a cornered beast. You might be surprised of what a living being would do to survive. And the Empire is just as alive as you and me."

"Good point you make there. Thanks for the update, Lt Yanagida. Take care!" Itami says, shakes hands with Yanagida and leaves with his team to make ready for the following mission.

Behind RCT3 appeared a group of people dressed in civilian clothing.

' _Ah, the reporters and observers from the United Nations.'_ Yanagida remembered. He walked towards the group to welcome them as he is supposed to. There were several observers and two teams of reporters with a cameraman and an interviewer for each team. After proceeding with the formalities, two of the reporters ask Yanagida: "Uhm, sir… We are supposed to go to Italica right now and then to Bravil to film the military operation that will unfold there. Can you help us with it?"

Yanagida looked at the two. "Ah, miss Arlette (French) and mister Jun (Japanese, cameraman). Right this way. RCT3 will be leaving soon for Italica and you can join them. From there you can join Colonel Karl Dietrich and his men to reach your destination. Combat Unit Europa will actively participate in the fight. Follow me, please."

One of the two reporter teams will be interviewing the soldiers and refugees at Alnus and Italica while the other one will be filming and interviewing the participants to the upcoming offensive.

* * *

 **Special Region, Duma Mountains – East of Bravil**

 _Meanwhile_

After four days of marching, General Tasius and his men arrived at their destination. The mountain range was 80km wide. The JSDF and its allies have to push through 80km of mountains, mostly covered by forests. Forests and mountains – perfect terrain for ambushes against any army. No matter how large and powerful your army is, you will have to stretch your lines to accommodate everyone on the narrow road. Just as the Germanic tribes annihilated the Romans in the forests of Teutoburg.

General Tasius set up camp in a large clearing between mountains, hidden from unwanted eyes by trees. His soldiers established tents and were resting. But not all of them were present here. He sent Legate Caius, his second in command, with half of the legion on the northern flank of the road to be able to hit the enemy column from both sides when they inevitably attempt to cross towards east.

 **FLASHBACK**

"Caius, I trust you with half of the legion to defend the northern side of the pass. Split your units in smaller mobile units to engage the enemy when they make their appearance. Advance to the west and defend every meter of soil. If things get ugly, slowly retreat to the east and keep a rearguard at any time to hold off the enemy as you organize a new defensive line. I will do just the same." were Tasius' words to his highest ranking officer and friend. "The enemy we are facing is totally different to what we know. They fight from a safe distance and unleash destructive magic. Use the bows and crossbows to take down their soldiers. Adranos just sent us everything the garrison of the Imperial Capital had in stores. And make good use of the battle mages and ogres and trolls too. Everything you have."

"General, do you see it wise to bring trolls and ogres with us? I know that they have been trained for war and obedience since they were newborn… but was it actually wise? What if they run and cause trouble later on?" Caius asked.

"They could run free but they don't know what to do afterwards. They are mostly dumb beasts. They will obey orders. Don't worry. I also doubt the enemy will use the iron chariots too much in these woods so they will be of little concern. They'll surely make a push with them on the Appia though. Mostly, on the flanks, we'll face the enemy's foot soldiers." his commander reassured him. "And remember to put your soldiers on a schedule. Send the tired ones to rest and fresh fighters to replace them. I have taught you everything I know. Do your best, Legate!"

"Yes, general!"

"Dismissed!"

 **END OF FLASHBACK**

Tasius was looking over a map of the region he was in. Around the table were other officers of the Imperial Army. After carefully analyzing it, he stated his opinion:

"Men, I am thinking of the following strategy. Ditch the city and fortress of Bravil and continuously harass the enemy when they push into the mountains."

"General! How can you be so comfortable with leaving the city and the garrison to its fate!?" an officer exclaimed.

"I have already sent word to the commander of the garrison to abandon their positions and join us. It is useless to defend a town that will fall no matter what. I trust Titus when he says that a town cannot be defended against the invaders. He was at Alnus when the enemy first arrived. He saw their power." Tasius replies.

"I doubt the garrison will come out and join us. The commander will most likely hold its ground."

"That would be a shame…" Tasius stated with a somewhat disappointed voice.

"General, what will General Titus do? Word has it that he has deployed northwest, in the Romarias." one of his officers asked.

"He is expecting another push of the enemy there. If no attack happens, he will march south and hit the enemy's flank. He might be already on his way south. My guess is that he got there before us. It is faster to travel by boat on the Row stream than by foot. So, moving on. We don't send troops to aid in a useless defense of the fortress. I also expect the enemy army to send troops on the flanks of the column that will march on Appia between the mountains. Any good commander would first secure the flanks in this kind of terrain. So I expect them to send a fair amount of soldiers ahead. Men, order your units not to engage the first enemy unit that enters the mountains! Let them advance a while and then attack them! Cut them off from their main force and eliminate their resistance pocket."

"Understood, general!" everyone said in unison.

"In rest, begin immediate preparations on the defensive lines I've drawn on the map. And block the road with rocks and trees at these spots. In these places, the pass is at the narrowest. If there is nothing else, men… then you may leave and tend to your men and orders." General Tasius said.

* * *

 **Special Region, Dessria highway**

 _D-Day + 41 days, 1130 hours_

RCT3 was back in action after a short break. The same vehicles. Itami's Humvee leading the light truck, LAV and Leopard 2A6 tank. Arlette and Jun were inside the Humvee. They were almost one hour away from Italica. Jun was filming the landscape while Arlette was talking to Kurokawa.

Arlette: "So, miss Kurokawa…"

Kurokawa: "Call me just Kurokawa or Sgt Kurokawa, please."

Arlette: "My apologies. Sgt Kurokawa, what is your job within the team?"

Jun turns the camera to film Kurokawa and Arlette who are sitting across each other.

Kurokawa put her warm smile on her face as she spoke. "I am the combat medic of RCT3. When there is nobody injured, I am the happiest."

Arlette: "What is your current mission, Sgt Kurokawa?"

Mari Kurokawa turned her gaze towards her commanding officer, Lt Itami, who nodded his head in approval, like saying "It is ok if you tell them.". Then she turned her eyes again to the French woman, Arlette.

Kurokawa: "We are deploying north of Italica, just south of a mountain range. Our job is to map what we consider to be important places on the southern slopes of the mountains, like passes through the mountains and settlements."

Arlette: "I see. How do you feel about the Special Region?"

Kurokawa: "I like it. It is a beautiful place, not touched by industry. The air is clean and the landscape is amazing! You should try stargazing too. I must admit that I don't recognize any constellations on the night sky. And the people of the Special Region are great too! The good ones of course."

Arlette: "Have you come in contact with bad people too?"

Kurokawa: "Yes, it was inevitable. A small unit of Imperial soldiers lead by an officer murdered a man and raped his wife and daughter during the evacuation of Coda. They thought it would be a great idea to go ahead of everyone else and suffered at the hands of the brutes. Then there are ex-soldiers who turned bandits…"

Arlette: "What happened to the Imperial soldiers?"

Kurokawa didn't reply. She just let her eyes sink into the vehicle's steel with a sad expression on her face. Arlette understood that it would be better not to ask her and also understood that she could get a story on this topic.

Itami replied to Arlette's question: "They got what was coming for them. Rory killed them all when he let them free after we killed their officer in a fight."

Arlette and Jun gasped when they heard it. The French reporter spoke with an enraged tone to her voice: "How could you do this!? Why did you let her kill them?"

Itami: "How could we, you ask miss? I don't want to be a bad person, nor am I a jackass. But when somebody comes at you with the intent to kill you… you either kill him or he takes your life. Such is the ugly nature of war and fighting. If you are ready to kill someone, then be ready to die. And why did we allow her? We didn't know about her when she did it. We met Rory later. She is a demigoddess who can sense everything, even your feelings and motivation. They had it coming…"

Arlette: "Lieutenant, how can you speak about such things as if they are trivial matters?"

Itami: "Everything is subject to change. People are no exception, now are they? War and loss have a way of changing you. I would like to have my free time back to rest and nurture my hobbies."

Kurata, the 21 year old driver, glanced at Itami after he spoke. _'You surely are not the same man I trained with back in Japan. You've changed a bit, lieutenant.'_

Arlette: "You soldiers…"

Mari Kurokawa put on an offended face at the sound of those words. The way Arlette said them, with an insult attached to them in her tone. "What of us, the soldiers, miss?"

Kurata: "With all due respect, reporter. Freedom of speech grants you the freedom to say stupid things like that and we are disciplined men and women here in the military. But be more careful with it out there in the world."

Arlette: "Is that a threat, sodier?"

Itami was getting annoyed by this situation. "Knock it off, y'all. Why not talk about something else? Let's make the rest of our trip to Italica more pleasant. Yo, Kurata. Got you one of those novels you asked from Tokyo. Remind me to give it to you when we drop the two off."

Kurata's face lightened up with joy. "Yes, sir! Thank you, lieutenant!"

* * *

 **Italica, Eastern gate**

 _D-Day + 41 days, 1230 hours_

Outside Italica's eastern gatehouse a long column of armored vehicles formed up – tanks, APC, IFVs and trucks filled with supplies and soldiers. Those who had no more room in the trucks were riding on the tanks and APCs. Everybody was making ready to leave for the front lines. Arlette and Jun who arrived with RCT3 joined Dietrich's men and are waiting for the column to get moving. Countess Myui was inside the walls with her housemaids and the officers. Dietrich addressed to Lieutenant Colonel Robert Lee.

"LtCol Robert, you and the 1,000 British soldiers under your command will be Italica's garrison for the time being. The FOB outside the southern gate is finished. I'm leaving you in command. Take care of this town and its people."

"Yes, sir!"

Then, Dietrich came near Myui who was watching them. "Countess, you are under LtCol Robert's protection now. His and his men. Shall anything happen, his soldiers will help you. Please be safe and take care of your people in these times of trouble."

Myui: "Where are you all leaving?"

Dietrich paused and smiled to her before giving an answer. "To war, Countess… to war."

Myui: "War brings nothing good. Why do you have to go there?"

"You see, the Empire hit us and we hit back. War is the ugliest thing mankind will ever know. Alright. Take care." the German colonel spoke before turning around to his comrades from other countries. LtCol Oliver Clemson of the Canadian Army and Major Dante of the Italian Army were waiting for him. "Alright, gentlemen. LtCol O'Neill and his Americans are waiting for us. Any news from him?"

Oliver: "He said that the garrison in Bravil is on high alert. The _1_ _st_ _Armored_ engaged small enemy units in short skirmishes. No losses on our side. But their presence close to Bravil has put the Imperials there on high alert."

Dante: "Say, colonel, how do you fancy our chances?"

Dietrich: "Well, major… We have the superior technology on our side. What I am afraid of is the pass through the mountains. Perfect for ambushes and guerilla warfare. According to HQ, enemy units have been spotted by UAVs. They are preparing to make a stand in the mountains. And we don't know their numbers. Right now we have 10,000 ready to go into battle at any moment. Good thing with the reinforcements that arrived recently. 10,000 German, Italian, American and Japanese soldiers. But we don't know the numbers of our foe… Alright… saddle up!"

The three officers moved at his order and mounted their APCs. Then, the column started to move. The leading vehicle was a Canadian Leopard 2A6 flying the new flag of Combat Unit Europa. The Leopards were followed by Type 74 tanks of the JSDF and M1A2 Abrams. The column was two kilometers long. From his APC, Dietrich established radio contact with the commanding officer of the American soldiers and the other officers under his command. General Hazama appointed him as the supreme officer of the upcoming operation.

Dietrich: "LtCol O'Neill, do you read?"

O'Neill through radio: "Yes, colonel, loud and clear."

Dietrich: "I want a sitrep."

O'Neill: "Sir, my men are ready to go into action at any moment. All vehicles have been serviced. We are waiting for you."

Dietrich: "Copy that. Colonel Kengun, how are your men doing?" he asked the commanding officer of the Japanese soldiers under his command.

Kengun: "The JSDF is always ready, Colonel Dietrich."

( **AN3:** Alright, I know Kengun is actually in charge of the airborne 4th Combat Unit of the JSDF in the anime and manga, but here he will be with Dietrich and someone else will be in charge of the airborne units of the JSDF.)

Dietrich: "Good to hear. Alright, please listen carefully. We hit tomorrow the fortress at Bravil and occupy it. The day after we secure the town and the fortress we'll push through the mountains. Command sent us the plans of this operation. On the road that runs through the mountains will advance the American tanks of the _1_ _st_ _Armored_. They will be accompanied by Japanese and U.S. infantrymen and light armor. On the southern flank will advance Major Dante and his men. The Italians will be the vanguard, they will be followed by Japanese soldiers. On the northern flank of the road will advance the Germans and Canadians. LtCol Clemson, you will lead the vanguard on your flank with the German soldiers behind your men. The A-10s, F-4s and AH-1s will give us air support wherever it is needed. Expect fierce resistance from the enemy forces once you enter the mountains. Any questions, gentlemen?"

"No, sir. Everything is clear."

Dietrich: "Take care of you and your men. Be very careful and don't take unnecessary risks. I'd rather take my time and be careful than try to rush our way through and have good men die needlessly. LtCol O'Neill, we'll meet you in three hours or so."

O'Neill: "Roger. See you here, folks!"

The column passed through a few villages on its way to Bravil. In every village they passed, people gathered on the roadside to watch the alien army march. See the horseless carts and the iron elephants. The tanks were radiating majesty and power all around them, sending chills on everyone's back. The ground trembled when they passed and the distinctive screeching sound of tank track and metal was engulfing them. It was a sight to behold. Some of the soldiers who were riding on the tanks were waving to the civilians and handing out chocolate to children.

* * *

 **Special Region, Fel'kren**

 _Meanwhile_

While the armies of Earth were mobilizing, up here in the cold northern province of the continent of Falmart things were not looking great. A new day dawned. A day which will see blood and death. For Alistair and Alia, the day was just beginning. Even though it was 11 am already, they were still asleep in each other's arms. Vigor came inside, left them breakfast on the table and left the room. The sound of the door closing was enough to wake up a well rested Alistair. His eyes slowly opened and the first thing he saw was Alia's head resting tucked to his chest, her hair covering the left side of his chest. A smile slowly formed on his face. He whispered into her ear.

"Girl, wake up… Is kind of late to be still sleeping."

She moaned as she turned around and opened her eyes. "Why are you waking me up?"

"The Sun is higher up on the sky than you were in pleasure last night." This earned him a punch in the stomach from Alia. "Agh! What did I do to deserve that one?"

She turned on the other side before bothering to answer his question. "You too were just like me. Now I can't sleep anymore…"

"Come on, you ain't gonna sleep forever, are you?"

"I will, one day for forever."

"That day will have to wait a long time. Vigor left us something to eat on the table."

"Mhm. Wait…" Alia remembered what Alistair said yesterday evening – that they will be fighting again today. "I just remembered…" she says as she gets up and starts dressing herself. Alistair didn't waste time and did the same. "You said that we'd be back in trouble today, didn't you?"

Alistair remembered his dreams and his face turned blank again. "Bloody hell… Aye! He said so."

"Then let us make ready for it…" a now fully dressed Alia says. She then sits at the table and starts eating. Alistair follows her and they eat together. It wasn't too long until they heard people agitating outside and many guards running around.

"Huh? What is going on?"

"I guess it is time, don't you think, Alia?"

Vigor came through the door, obviously shaken. "They are back! The demons are back!"

"Crap! Alia, make ready for battle!"

* * *

 **AN:** Well, here is chapter 18, the prequel to war. Please leave opinions an critics in the reviews :D


	19. Ch 19 - Blizzard and Death

**AN:** The titles I choose for my chapters don't have just a literal meaning. They mean more. I try to emphasize in the chapter's title what is going on with the story and how the characters are feeling too. If you want me to post in one chapter what every chapter title meaning has behind it, then let me know. Most of them have other meanings behind them than just the literal one (if there is a literal meaning to it)

 **AlxkendBlader:** So you figured it out :D actually the gods know what each other are doing. Just that Hardy is going over the line and the others are messing with her (not letting her do whatever she wants in the world of the living)

 **Newbie:** The thing is that I considered it. Don't actually know what to do if the Imperials capture the weapons from dead soldiers. They would only take the guns and no ammo and would have trouble big time learning how to use them, even accidentally shoot each other. Rather than going on that path and mess with a lot of "paperwork", I'm thinking of passing that part.

 **ATP:** No, actually I had Emroy say what actually happened. Hardy wanted to teleport the vehicle in which Rory was. But in the last moment, Emroy switched Rory's car with the British Humvee and this is how they ended up in this mess. But Alistair doesn't know this yet :p

 **DekerVke:** Well, it happens, mate. Now, regarding your thoughts on my story. As I said, I wanted to bring Poland in this too, but I reconsidered it when I thought of the geopolitical situation that is unfolding today with Russia. So, to kind of compensate for it, I had the Leopards named Hussar Leopards. Added the wings to the leopard logo for the Polish hussars :D and Poland does operate the Leopard 2 tank, so I guess it would be even. About the movies, I simply put one of my favorite movies. Thank you! Thanks for following my story with such enthusiasm! And yeah, we do have our assholes too. In every corner of the world will be an asshole. Everywhere. Just that the eastern European countries are too permissive of this kind of behavior, it needs a change to take place in every person's mind and heart before redeeming this bad aspect of man.

* * *

 **Chapter 19: Blizzard and Death**

* * *

 _'Entry VIII:_

 _I dwelled in darkness and sadness for too long, so long that I've become comfortable with them, rarely feel what I used to call…"true happiness". It looks so distant too often, yet rarely so close. I am turning into something like a dead shell, something dead animated by few emotions and feelings so familiar yet so strange. Why?_

 _'Entry IX:_

 _It's scary to think that one day we're going to have to live without our mother or father or husband or wife. Or that one day we're going to walk this earth without our best friend by our side, or them without us. Appreciate your loved ones while you can, because none of us are going to be here forever.'_

* * *

 **Special Region, Fel'kren**

 _D-Day + 41 days_

"Come on, men! Move faster!"

"Commander! We have summoned every man in the town's guard."

"Get moving to the western wall! Move! Move! Move!"

"Bring more arrows!"

"We already took out everything we have."

The town of Fel'kren was in chaos. The commander of the town's guard was organizing the defense of Fel'kren, issuing orders left and right.

"You! You and your men! Get on with the evacuation of civilians out of the western district. Move it!" he ordered an officer and his group.

The western wall was now packed with guards standing shoulder to shoulder with shields, spears, swords or bows at the ready. Some were preparing a second line of defense, shall the walls fall. Archers were taking positions in the guard towers and between their comrades on the wall. Some were shaking. What man wouldn't shake or be scared at the sight the guards are being cursed to see?

Alia and Alistair came out of the inn geared up. He was in his British Army uniform with the M4 at the ready, bayonet fixed on it, his M1911 in its gun holder and three grenades. Alia was in her armor with the sword in hand. They started running towards the western wall where the guards were concentrating.

"Hey, soldier! You two are back?" the commander of the guard asked them when they arrived at the gatehouse.

"Aye! You could use every help you can get, don't you?"

"Indeed. Take positions on the wall."

"Where are the demons?" Alia asked.

The commander of the guard didn't lose time replying to her question. "Outside…"

They got up on the stairs and made their way through the guards. Men in fur and steel armor standing shoulder to shoulder, ready to defend the town and its citizens from the abominations outside. Alistair and Alia were shocked when their eyes took hold of their foe. Weird humanoids with maces, old swords and spears were marching disorderly on the town's walls. They were almost like zombies – a mixture of flesh and dirt. Their eyes were hollow with a orange glow to them, their hair was missing and their body was made of dirt, rocks and flesh. Behind them, up in the sky, a whole bunch of winged demons were flying in circles.

Alistair: "What on bloody hell!?"

Alia: "What are those things?"

A guard next to Alia replied: "Hardy's abominations. Her servants… The priest said that she can create as many as she pleases. Why is she doing all this?"

Alistair became angry at his reply. "Because she is a fucking lunatic, that's why. A demented god. We are pawns in the game of the gods here."

Alia: "There are entire hordes of them… they keep coming out of the forest."

Alistair: "Alright! Alia, stay close to me. Men! Send those monsters to their crazy mistress, into the abyss they arose from!"

"Archers! Draw! Aim! Loose!" the commander of the guards shouted. A wave of arrows fell among the advancing monsters from the underworld. Many arrows found their targets. They pierced the monsters and put down some of them. One walker (walker = humanoid monster) took two arrows to his rocky chest but kept advancing.

"Aim for their heads if you can!" Alistair shouted before slowly taking aim and shooting one bullet at a time. _'Every round counts.'_ he said to himself.

Alia stood beside him with the M1911 in her right hand. She was waiting for the monsters to come close before shooting them. She knows that the more ammo they can hold on to, the higher their chances of survival. She turned her eyes to look at Alistair. He was resting his left hand on the wall and taking aim with care. _'He's totally focused on his enemy. Calmly picking out his targets… He is really an amazing person when he is in his soldier mode.'_

' _Those shits must have a nervous system to be able to move since they have flesh… Magic can't simply think for itself and animate them like that, now can it?'_ was the question going through the British lieutenant's head. "EAT LEAD, YOU FUCKERS!" he shouted in English to which Alia flinched her head. She was still waiting for the monsters to come very close to the walls.

"They are at the walls! Commander! They are climbing on the wall!" a guard shouted.

"What!? Throw rocks on their damn heads! Draw swords and make ready!"

"Winged demons! Incoming!" an archer shouted from atop the tower.

"Take them down!"

The demons were no longer circling overhead the trees and were heading towards the town. The archers hit some of them before they reached the walls. Guards raised their shields up and prepared their spears to impale any demon that dives on them with the intent to kill. Others were throwing rocks down on the walkers who are scaling the walls with their bare hands. Alia aimed her gun at some walkers who were climbing and blasted their heads with .45 ACP rounds. Then, she aimed her gun at the winged demons and shoots down one at a time when she knows she can't miss. Alistair prioritized the winged demons as the most immediate threat since he knows what havoc they can wreck on the town.

The guards were slashing with their swords at the walkers who managed to reach the top of the wall while spearmen were fending off the winged demons. Some guards were taken down by the flying monsters, slowly the number of wounded or killed on the defenders' side was rising.

"Stand fast, men! Don't falter in face of the abominations!"

One guard was taken in flight by a demon and killed, his guts spilled on the others below him, his body fell on the stairs of the wall and tumbled down on the cold snow. It left a bloody trace behind.

Walkers were climbing on the battlements and engaged in brutal combat with the humans. Their old swords were still dangerous enough to inflict mortal wounds on the brave guards. One guard in particular watched every comrade around him die at the hands of the walkers or winged demons. He prepared to make his last stand as he found himself surrounded by Hardy's abominations. "Damn you all, monsters! Aaaaaaaa!" was his war cry before he charged at them with his sword raised, ready to slash at his foes. Several walkers dropped dead when the guard cut their necks.

Alistair noticed him and fired a couple bullets into the remaining monsters. "Come on! Hold your ground!" he encouraged those around him.

Alia was furiously cutting down walkers with her katana and shooting winged demons with the M1911. The fighting was taking a toll on both sides. The defenders, outnumbered, were slowly losing control of the wall.

"Aliaaa! Get down!" Alistair shouted when he noticed a demon was diving in on Alia. Alia turned around to see the British firing his gun at something above her. Then she looked to the sky and saw it. The demon was less than 20 meters from her. _'No time!'_

"MOOVE!"

The M4's 5.56mm rounds found their mark on the winged demon and killed it. Alia froze in place, she was suddenly engulfed by the fear of imminent death. The monster came tumbling down on her and threw the warrior of the Frost into the battlements on the wall.

"Alia! Aliiaaa!" the British came screaming to her. "Girl, are you ok?"

"I think so... My armor took most of the shock…" she replied. Alistair pushed the winged demon who fell on her aside with his right leg and put one more bullet into it. He then helped Alia stand up. She got up and wanted to swing her sword at a walker who just climbed the wall. She made a circular move with her right hand in which she held her blade and split the monster's head in half. "Agh!" she let out a moan of pain. She suffered injuries when that winged demon fell on her at high speed.

"What's wrong?"

"I can't move my right hand without feeling pain in my right chest side."

"Take it easy, girl. Get out of here and find a medic to tend to your wounds."

"Medic..?"

"A bloody healer, girl! Get behind! You can't fight like this."

"I am not going anywhere, Al! I can still fight with my left hand."

"Shut up! I'm taking you out of here! No complaining!" Alistair scolds Alia and proceeds to take her into his arms. _'I'd like to hold my wife like this… but eh…'_ he was thinking in his mind. Alia was struggling to force him to let her down but he didn't. He was holding his M4 to his back, the gun's strap was running along from his left shoulder to his right hip. As she was evacuated from the front lines, Alia kept firing her pistol at any monster she could see. Around them, the guards were fighting to the death with unseen fury in their eyes and in their war cries. They were fiercely defending their town and families because they knew that if the defenses were breached death would await the entire town.

"I NEED A GOD DAMN HEALER HERE! SOMEBODY!"

"HERE! Bring the wounded here!" a healer shouted. Alistair rushed into the direction from which he heard the voice. A man in robes with a chest plate to serve as his armor was tending to the wounded in a corner near one of the guard towers. The man was tending to many wounded, healing their wounds in very short time, the soldiers going right back into action.

"Put her here. What's hurting?"

"Right chest side." Alia replies to the man. "A demon fell on me."

"Must have broken a few ribs. Stay as you are now for a few seconds."

The healer put his palms on Alia's armor. He whispered a few strange words. "Laas daal - ofan haas wah hin slen" and a brief white light emanated from under his fingers. After a few seconds, he helped Alia stand up.

"Are you feeling pain?"

"No… it is gone. Thank you!"

"Thank Zufmuut, the God of Light and Order for granting me the power to heal you."

"What… was that magic again?" Alistair asked confused.

"It was magic too. But it was Zufmuut's blessing too." the healer explained.

Alistair: "Ah, I was never good with riddles like this…"

Healer: "There is no riddle, soldier. It is just as you heard. Half magic, half blessing. My god doesn't approve of human suffering and bestows upon his priests the blessing of healing."

"THE MONSTERS BROUGHT TROLLS!" a guard shouted from atop the wall. Large, bulky monsters came forth from the tree line. The defenders guessed them to be trolls. They resembled trolls but they were just as unworldly as the walkers or winged demons. They looked more like dead reanimated trolls with decaying flesh. They had large jaws and sharp teeth, their body mostly covered in scales. To Alistair they would have looked more like a crossbreed between trolls and crocodiles.

Alia: "No time to stand and talk. Good men are fighting and dying. Back into action!"

Just as he wanted to get moving, Alistair's personal radio kicked in. Somebody was broadcasting. A voice spoke in English with a Japanese accent: "…anyone? Seeker One here, can anyone hear me?"

Alia heard Alistair's radio buzzing and a voice coming out of it. She turned on the spot, her curiosity focused on that small black box with buttons. "What… why is a voice coming out of that?" she asked with a low voice.

"This is Lieutenant Alistair to Seeker One, come in! can you hear me, Seeker One?"

"Seeker One here, loud and clear, lieutenant!"

"What's going on, Seeker One?"

"General Hazama sent two F-4s to look for the missing British soldiers. Glad we found you! According to my tracking equipment, you are 10km from my position. Changing course. Are you in that town in the distance, Lt?"

"Aye! How did you know I was here?"

"A girl named Lelei and her master, Cato, helped us. All we had was a general direction, not a fix location. Pretty lucky we found you on our first run. I'll drop you four some supplies, help me with finding a good spot for it."

"Negative, Seeker One! There is only me left. The other three who were with me died when our vehicle crashed into a tree and some demons. You are entering hostile airspace, we are sieged here by some monsters and demons."

"Repeat. I don't think I understand."

"Relay this to HQ, ASAP!"

"They are listening, we have multiple aircraft serving as communication nods. They pick up our signal and relay it to other planes in the air until it reaches Alnus. So they hear you right now."

"A damn crazy goddess wants everyone in this province dead and is sending out its demons and monsters to do so. We are currently engaging enemy forces in combat. We need help, right now! The town's guard can't hold on for one more day at this rate! Many villages have already been wiped out, now they are hitting towns and cities. The local population will be exterminated if we don't do something! Then they'll move south with their rampage! I repeat, we are currently fending off another enemy attack on the western wall. We are outnumbered and require immediate assistance!"

"Roger that! Me and Seeker Two can give you some close air support but it is limited. We had to carry as much fuel as possible and packed minimal firepower. Designate the target, lieutenant."

"Everything outside the western wall. Send them to hell, Seeker One!"

"Copy that! Enjoy the fireworks. Seeker One and Two headed your way."

"Thanks, Seeker One. If the defenses are breached, then there will be nothing left alive here. Watch out for the winged demons!"

Alia kept staring at Alistair. "Are you talking to that box?"

Alistair grabbed her hand and raced with her up on the wall. "MEN! HOLD YOUR GROUND! WE HAVE HELP COMING THIS WAY!"

"Hoooraaaaaah!" the guardsmen shouted in unison.

Alistair: "Just watch as these damn vermin get roasted! Ha ha ha ha ha!" he erupted into a crazy laughing. He pointed his gun again at the advancing walkers and trolls and started firing while laughing. Then, a sound could be heard. Something was coming from the south. A whizzing noise that grew louder and louder. It was the distinctive sound of jet engine. Everybody was now turning its head to see what it was. Two objects slowly made their appearance on the horizon at a low altitude. They made a low fly by with their afterburners at maximum. The sound was deafening to everybody, except the lieutenant.

"What are those things!?"

Alia watched the two Phantoms fly by with huge speed. She could see that somebody was inside those strange flying contraptions. She made out the blue camouflage paint scheme and the red rising sun emblem. "What is that, Al?"

"They are friends, girl."

The two jets performed and Immelmann maneuver and turned around.

"Identified multiple enemy ground targets advancing on the wall. Commencing fire with the 20mm cannon."

The jet fighters' 20mm cannons roared to life and sent death onto Hardy's abominations. The defenders covered their ears at the deafening sound of a modern aircraft's gun. They strafed the entire length of the advancing monsters, killing many of them. The newly arrived troll-alligator type of monsters were targeted by the jets as they stood out more. The 20mm rounds tore their bodies apart, leaving behind nothing more than limbs, flesh and blood.

The defenders followed with their eyes the two flying monsters. They roared like dragons but flew faster than them, they could turn Hardy's abominations into nothing less than bloody flesh piles, they flew faster than dragons.

"What are the two flying things?" the guards started asking after finally killing the last walker who climbed the walls and the archers were slowly picking out the winged demons.

Alistair answered their curiosity: "Those are the F-4 Phantoms. They are my friends. Don't worry! Keep fending them off the walls!"

The two Phantoms turned around again and launched their AAM into the tree line from where the strange trolls kept coming out. Four explosions brought trees down and killed more of Hardy's puppies. They proceeded to strafe the monsters two more times before their ammo ran dry.

"Seeker One here, I am out of ammo."

"Seeker Two here, I have no rounds left for the 20mm either. Lieutenant, we'll drop you a package within the walls and then we'll RTB. It might take like 16 hours to reach you again. And there will be other pilots on the next run."

"Copy that, Seeker One and Two. Thank you for the help."

The two F-4s dropped their packages within Fel'kren's walls and headed south. Everyone who was outside saw the two planes.

Meanwhile, back on the western wall, the monsters broke off their attack. With no more reinforcements for the monsters coming from the forest, the defenders secured the day. Everybody was exhausted after almost a day of fighting. The defenders were gathering those who died and lining them all up. Alistair and Alia were sitting by each other's side on the cold snow and leaning on the battlements. A boy brought them warm water to drink. Alistair took Alia's helmet off, put his left arm around her neck and leaned her on him.

"We made it through again, girl."

"Mhm…"

"What's wrong? You injured again?"

"No. I am thinking if we can hold out one more attack. Look…"

Alistair looked at the many rows of dead guards lined up on the ground. There were many casualties. At this rate they would fall, shall another attack materialize. The healer who helped Alia was walking among the dead and saying something. _'Is he saying a prayer for the fallen?'_

"What is he doing?"

"He's giving them their last prayers to guide them in the afterlife. Say, Al… what were those two things earlier?"

"I told you. We call them planes. We built them to be able to fly. There are different types of planes – for people to travel and for people to fight in them."

"Do you actually reach for the skies in your world?"

"Yep. You might not believe me, but we are now going for the stars."

"For the stars?"

"Yes. You see, every star you see on the night sky is a star just like the Sun. There are many different types of stars. There are so many worlds in the Universe… So many wonders. Human civilization wants to learn about them all. Sometimes I wonder why the hell I chose the path of a soldier…"

"How are the stars?"

"As I said… beautiful. You could fall in love with them. We are small beings in a large ocean of worlds. I feel so insignificant compared to the greater scale."

"Will you show me your world, Al?"

"I won't make any promises, girl… You see… I killed prisoners after they apparently surrendered. When I get back home… I may live the rest of my life in prison."

"What..?"

"Some Imperial soldiers. They did some ugly things… I shot them dead even after they were disarmed."

Alia didn't know what to think. Her master, Askil, taught her not to raise her blade at those who surrendered. Now, the man she found comfort in and felt close to was going to be condemned for a crime if he returned back home. _'Why? Why would he want to return there? It would not be in his gain to rot in prison. What is wrong with me? Why did I even take a liking to him in the first place?'_

Alia asked him: "Wh-Why would you want to go back to Alnus? Why did you want to help me get there in the first place, then? They would arrest you."

Alistair paused for a brief moment before speaking. "What do you think is more important, me or many other innocent people suffering at the hand of Hardy's insanity?"

Alia slowly pushed herself from his embrace and got up on her feet. She now spoke with a serious tone. "Come, let us retrieve the content of those packages your friends brought you."

* * *

 **Special Region, North of Italica**

 _D-Day + 41 days, evening_

RCT3 moved from Italica to the north and made camp when the evening was taking hold of the lands. They were not too far from Italica and still had to go a while before reaching the Romaria Mountains.

Everybody was around a campfire except for Itami and Erwin who were having a look over a map of the region between Italica and the Romarias. They were using a lantern to shed some light on it.

Erwin spoke first. "Alright, Lt Itami. What is your plan?"

Itami: "I was thinking of going this way, from the eastern side to the west and map everything we find. There are some marshes around here…" he says while describing a circlea on the map with his finger "…so we should probably avoid that area and take this route. We'll use this dirt road to reach our starting point. How do you feel about this?"

"Sounds good. As long as we don't get bogged down in marshes, my tank will be good. What is this here?" Erwin asks and points to a dot on the map.

"HQ said it is a village. Maybe we can get from them some information on places of interest."

"Doesn't hurt to take a small detour. Looks like this road passes through the village. It is a small detour, but it might be well worth it."

"Yep. Now that we cleared this matter… let us join our friends around the campfire. Looks like they are having fun." Itami says with a smile.

Just as the two folded the map, the long range radio kicked in. "This is Alnus to RCT3 actual. Come in, RCT3!". Itami rushed to it and picked it.

"This is Lt Itami!"

"Good to hear you, lieutenant. We have news regarding the four missing British soldiers."

Itami's face lightened up. "What news?"

"Three of them are dead, Lt Alistair is the only survivor. Right now he is helping a town fend off demon attacks."

"WHAT!? What's going on there?"

"It is true, our F-4s confirmed the situation. The defenders have sustained heavy casualties. Apparently, all this is the doing of Hardy and Emroy, two of the Special Region's gods. We'll ask Rory for more information as soon as we get in touch with her. Our F-4s dropped him winter clothing, food and extra ammunition and survival equipment for cold weather."

"Ah, thank you. Please keep me updated on the situation."

"Will do. Take care on your current mission and focus on it, Lt Itami. Alnus out."

Erwin was smiling as he heard the news too. "That is good news and bad news. At least he is alive."

"Indeed… we need to do something about this."

"Hey, Itami, don't do anything stupid. We are half a continent away from him."

"Would you come with me if we had the chance?"

Erwin stared Itami in the eyes. "You care too much about people."

Itami sighed and leaned on the vehicle. "That's a curse and a blessing. I don't want to lose anybody, Erwin. I think it is wrong of me to ask you to accompany me up there… I should probably go alone."

"Don't overthink it. Of course me and my crew will accompany you in a search and rescue. But what would you do after you find him? He is supposed to be trialed and punished…"

"…I don't know."

"We can't do too much right now. Let's join the guys and have a good evening before sleeping."

* * *

 **Special Region, 1** **st** **Earth Allied Army camp**

 _D-Day + 41 days, evening_

The commanders of the newly assembled army that would breach through the Duma Mountains were resting, knowing this would be the last night of good rest in the near future. They were just 10 km from Bravil, their camp was set on both sides of the Appia highway which links the imperial capital with Italica and the western provinces.

The last details were made clear. The soldiers were in high spirits. The two reports, Jun and Arlette, were in the American side of the camp. They wanted to get to talk to those who would be the first to enter combat tomorrow – the American unit sent into the Special Region to aid Japan – the men of the _1_ _st_ _Armored_. They were strolling through the vehicles and soldiers. They came to the tanks and saw a tank commander sitting on his M1A2 Abrams' tank. Arlette addressed to him.

"Good evening! How are you doing, sir?"

The tank commander looked at the woman and cameraman. He realized these two were the two reporters they heard about. He lightened up a cigar before speaking. "Doing good, ma'am."

Arlette: "Do you have a moment to talk about tomorrow? We are filming and taking interviews to show back home."

The tank commander jumped off his tank to be on the same level with the reporter before speaking. "Sure."

Arlette asked him: "What are your thoughts about the upcoming battle tomorrow?"

"Not thinking too much about it. We made ready, everything is set and ready to go. We'll go in the town and secure the main road. Then we'll hit the castle. If the defenders refuse to surrender, we'll burry them under the rubble of their castle."

"How are you going to prevent civilian casualties if fighting erupts in town? I mean, you have been around here for a while and the Imperial Army that garrisoned the castle may meet you in the streets."

"It is a bad idea, ma'am. In their way of conducting war, it would be a terrible mistake to leave the cover of the castle's walls. If they meet us in the streets we'll have to fight them and try to keep collateral damage to the minimum. Hopefully the civilian population will evacuate early in the morning from our avenues of approach. A helicopter will fly over early in the morning and warn them."

"What will you do after you occupy the town?"

"Push on through the damn mountains, ma'am."

"Thanks for your time, sir."

"You're welcome."

The two reporters then went about. They wanted to talk to more soldiers but they were not too talkative. Many were laughing and having a good time with their comrades. Others were resting, making last checkups on their gear, writing some letters for the family back on Earth. The two reporters then gave up and retreated to their tent to get some sleep.

* * *

 **The next day, morning**

 _D-Day + 42 days_

The citizens of Bravil were starting their day. They thought it was going to be just like any other day. Little did they know that today their town would turn into a battlefield. A Huey helicopter flied over the houses broadcasting a message through the speakers. It advised the civilians to evacuate certain areas chosen by the EAA as paths of approaching the castle. Many wondered what the flying thing was. Some thought it to be a warning from the gods themselves and evacuated. Then, a formation of five A-10 Warthogs flew at low altitude, packed with firepower to the teeth. The planes performed a maneuver of intimidation to scare the garrison. The F-4s were at higher altitudes, covering the A-10s from any possible target that could engage them from the air.

Two A-10s broke formation and flew over the castle's walls, frightening the defenders. Some archers fired a few arrows but to no avail. The two jets performed then a strafing run on those on the walls. The distinctive 'BBBRRRRTTTTTTTT' of the A-10's Avenger 30mm cannon filled the air throughout the castle and town of Bravil. The two planes then disengaged and returned into formation, waiting for orders from command.

In the tavern in which weeks ago Pina and her knights learned for the first time about Itami's squad from a waitress, the same waitress was standing outside of the main door with her eyes at the sky. "Did the dragon come back!?". Everyone around her was wondering what the flying things are.

* * *

 **Back with the 1** **st** **EAA**

Everybody was marching around. American and Japanese soldiers were taking their pre-established positions before the signal was given to commence the attack. In the tent which served as the HQ of the 1st Earth Allied Army Colonel Karl Dietrich was issuing orders and drawing lines and arrows on the map. Radio operators were continuously talking with other units, relaying the colonel's orders. Nobody noticed General Hazama walk in the tent. Hazama smiled and approached Dietrich who was leaning over the table with maps.

Hazama spoke. "How is everything going, Brigadegeneral Karl Dietrich?"

Dietrich turned around to see who was interesting in joking at such a moment. When he saw the general he immediately stood at attention and saluted. "Everything is going as planned, General!"

"At ease, General!" Hazama stated. "Colonel Karl Dietrich, for exceptional service within the Bundeswehr and during your deployment in the Special Region, you are promoted to the rank of Brigadegeneral, the equivalent of Brigadier General. Congratulations!" Hazama says as he replaces Dietrich's insignias with his new ones. "You have full command of the 1st Earth Allied Army until relieved. Your country and everyone else expects you to fulfill your duty with the same devotement you showed before."

Dietrich was totally taken by surprise by this promotion. "T…Thank you, Lieutenant General Hazama!"

"At ease! I know this is unexpected but I received news about your promotion last evening. Let us see to the upcoming operation, general."

"Yes, sir." Dietrich replied after he recovered. "I want a report from every unit that is going into combat today."

After the last checkups were done, Dietrich gave the order: "To every unit, commence the operation!"

Just like a giant machinery's components were set in motion, so the 1st EAA was coming to life. Tanks and APCs of the _1_ _st_ _Armored_ were the spearhead and were the first to leave. They were shortly joined by Japanese soldiers and armor.


	20. Ch 20 - Slavery & Battle of Bravil

**AN:** Here is the latest chapter, folks! This may not be what you were expecting but I promise, there is something much better in the store. I kind of wanted to get fast past this point in the story.

 **ATP:** There will be stronk enemies! :)

 **Guest:** I doubt a nuclear weapon could harm something immaterial :p

 **recordman:** Thank you :D it's so great to know you are enjoying my story so much. I thank you for reading it! And regarding the proof reading part, I actually only read it once :p there may be some mistakes in this one too, sorry. Point them out if you want to, so I'll correct them. And the tactic for urban warfare is actually more taken from reality :p not so much into CoD. Enjoy the last chapter!

* * *

 **Chapter 20: Slavery & Battle of Bravil**

* * *

 **Special Region, Southern Romaria Mountains**

 _D-Day + 42 days_

General Titus was talking to his officers in a tent. Everybody was agitated and busy with something. The highest ranking officers of Titus were gathered around him, overlooking a map of the region. To his left was Legate Tullius, his best friend. To his right was Legate Kaeso, initially under the command of General Adranos who was now busy keeping them supplied and taking care of paperwork in the capital for Titus and Tasius.

A soldier came running. "General! Our battle mages have received a message! The enemy is attacking Bravil. It won't take too long before the castle falls and then they'll proceed through the mountains. General Tasius and his men have prepared to conduct a defensive operation."

Titus and Tasius were benefiting from the help of the Empire's battle mages – highly skilled sorcerers with destruction magic and just as skilled with other types of magic such as healing and telepathy. This telepathy was very beneficial, allowing two mages to communicate over long distances using magic, thus the Empire's armies could coordinate better. Molt and the Senate deemed these times as desperate indeed to send out their mages into combat. There were quite many of them but not too many. Among the middle aged to old mages were young women and men too. Even teenagers the same age as Lelei came with their masters to serve the Empire in this war.

Titus: "Thank you, soldier! Now, men. We must move fast. I hope you remembered what I told you about splitting up and fighting this enemy. If we can reach Bravil within three days, we could flank the enemy army and surround them. If the gods are on our side …then we can even secure a victory."

Tullius: "Yes, general. We remember what you taught us."

Kaeso: "We should avoid these marshes here, my lord. We can take a route which takes us a bit east of the marshes and then we continue our road south. I could take my men and march them on a western road from the difficult terrain to make sure the right flank is secure."

Titus: "Good point, Legate. I'm not quite fond of marshes either. But I doubt we will come in contact with the invaders that soon… they are busy sieging Bravil and securing the pass through the mountains. As a quick reminder – archers and crossbowmen will fight the enemy from afar, melee troops will try to come in close to engage and the mages will do their… magic. Don't send the mages in the front line, tell them to stay behind cover and cast destruction upon our enemy. And don't charge in recklessly with the cavalry or infantry. Beware of the enemy's iron elephants. Think different, men. And we shall prevail. Understood?"

"Yes, general!"

"Good! Move out! Send the scouts ahead!"

Titus split his forces in three to move faster and cover a wider front. Titus was leading the main force in the middle. Legate Kaeso was tasked with a command of 7,000 and was securing Titus' right (western) flank. Legate Tullius with his 8,000 legionaries was marching on the left (eastern) flank. Titus had 10,000 men in the middle. His army could form up very quick, shall the need arise. Mounted scouts were already ahead to scout the terrain and for enemy forces, thus securing an early warning system for Titus.

* * *

 **Special Region, Bravil**

 _Meanwhile_

Jets were flying over the castle and town of Bravil like vultures ready to dive on their prey. AH-1 Cobras and Huey helicopters were also passing over the buildings at low altitude. The citizens were scared and amazed at the same time. Some listened to the warning issued hours earlier by a few helicopters to evacuate certain areas in which fighting might break out.

The waitress who is working at _The Drunken Dragon Inn_ – a survivor of the Coda villagers, same waitress who told about Itami and his men to Pina – was sitting outside wondering what is going on. Her house was away from the areas designated as dangerous and didn't worry too much for her son. Then, she noticed them. Men wearing clothing similar to RCT3 approaching from the east, riding an iron elephant.

' _This one is different! And they are different!'_ she thought to herself.

The townspeople moved aside from the road when the Abrams came closer. There were several American soldiers sitting on its turret. The ground was trembling as the steel beast passed by. The soldiers were covered in their woodland camouflage uniform, all geared up and ready for combat. They had tactical goggles to protect their eyes from any shrapnel and some had their faces covered with balaclavas or scarves. They radiated professionalism, discipline and devotement. The tank was followed by an M2 Bradley FV and infantry. The vehicles moved slow not to leave the infantry behind. Several M113 APCs accompanied by two more M1A2 came to a halt close to the inn on the left side of the road. Soldiers disembarked and secured the perimeter.

"What are they doing? Those carriages, they are awfully similar to the Men in Green." the waitress said. She wanted to approach the strangers but one of them spoke first.

"Attention! The 1st Earth Allied Army is occupying this town. Everyone, please go inside. It is dangerous to stay outside! You might get hurt! Everyone, please go to your homes!"

The waitress asked him: "What are you people doing?"

The American soldier looked at her before replying. This scared her a bit, to be fixated by a bulky soldier's eyes. "Please go inside. This town is now under siege. Nobody will hurt you. We only want the garrison of the castle to surrender. Head back inside until the battle is over."

"They are sieging Bravil…"

"Battle?"

"They are going to pillage the town!"

The population was scared at the arrival of these strange soldiers who just said that they are sieging the castle and occupying the town. Most of them feared what other armies usually do – pillage, rape and kill.

The soldiers didn't pay much attention to the civilians. They would see later on that they were much different than the Empire or other militaries of Falmart.

* * *

 **1** **st** **Earth Allied Army HQ**

The HQ was very busy at the moment with everyone coordinating units to their objectives and receiving feedback. Brigadier General Karl Dietrich was talking to the A-10 pilots via a radio.

A-10 pilot via radio: "Yes, sir! They are dislodging troops from the castle and they already have men in the streets of the town. How long until our boys reach the castle, sir?"

Dietrich: "It might take them a little longer. Engage the enemy ground units."

A-10 pilot: "Please repeat, sir. Do you want us to engage the enemy?"

Dietrich: "Yes. Engage the enemy! Don't let them bring out more soldiers!"

A-10 pilot: "Alright, boys! You heard the general! Take them down!"

Just as Dietrich put down the radio headphones, Hazama called out to him. Dietrich turned around to see his superior officer reading a paper.

Dietrich spoke first: "Yes, general?"

Hazama was frustrated about something. "General Dietrich, please keep me updated on the offensive. I must return to Alnus…"

"What happened?"

"Agh! Civilians. Civilians! Have the helicopter ready, we're leaving! General Dietrich, I wish you good luck. We will keep in touch a lot."

"Yes, sir! Safe travels back to base, sir." Dietrich said before turning and coordinating the operation again. He picked up again the headphones and issued an order. "Get me LtCol O'Neill! … LtCol O'Neill, I want you to hit immediately the castle and seize it! Japanese soldiers will support yours. Get to it right now. … I don't care! The Warthogs have probably started hitting them hard. Get on there and secure the castle and the entrance to the pass!"

* * *

 **Castle Bravil**

Two of the A-10s broke off formation once more and descended upon the castle. The Appia highway passed beneath a large stone arch linked to the castle' walls. Imperial soldiers were leaving through the main gate while others were gathering on the walls and in the towers to prepare the defenses.

"Warthogs Four and Five, you are clear to engage." the leader said.

"Copy that, Warthog One."

They dived in on the defenseless Imperials. Their cannons roared to life and rained death on a column of imperial soldiers. Then they launched several rockets into the defenders on the walls, cutting them down. Body parts started flying in the air, torn apart either by the 30mm rounds or rockets. The two emptied their payload when they dropped bombs on the walls, crumbling them down and leaving behind a huge breach in the defenses.

From a safe distance, the civilians watched dust and smoke clouds rise above the castle and heard the thunderous noises made by the bombs when they exploded, shaking the ground, and cracks from firing the cannon.

"Warthog Four and Five, did you expend all your ammo?"

"Yes, sir."

"Return to base to resupply and rearm."

"Copy that, sir."

* * *

 **Through Bravil's streets**

The M1A2 Abrams was advancing through the streets with soldiers riding it. They still had to go a short while before reaching their destination – the walls of the castle. Behind the tank, Bradley and the infantry was another unit with a similar composition – one tank and several APCs packed with infantry inside.

"Hey, guys! Look at our Thunderbolts go!" one soldier said when he noticed their planes drop ordnance on the castle.

"Uuuuhuuuu! Roast 'em!"

"Keep your eyes on your surroundings. Enemy forces have been dislodged from the castle. We may encounter them pretty soon." a sergeant said.

"Why are you worried, Searge? We have a tank. No chance to withstand ou-" his words were cut short when several arrows came flying at them. The soldier was hit in the same leg by two arrows, others were hit in the chest but their vests didn't let the arrows pierce through. They were designed to stop bullets, after all. The wounded soldier fell off the tank. Another volley of arrows came from atop two houses but this time they only hit the Abrams' steel and bounced off. The infantry sprung into action already and took cover. Then, they heard an unknown voice shout in a foreign language. It was the native language. Then, from alleyways, several Imperial soldiers came out and attacked the American infantry.

Some managed to shoot them down. The imperials charged the Americans with their swords and spears. A private used his gun's stock to deflect a spear thrust, then hit the spearmen in the jaw with his M4. Of the private's comrade was not so lucky – he got his right hand severely wounded by a sword, it cut deep and fractured his radius and ulna. His foe was about to deliver the final blow when the sergeant stuck his combat knife in the Imperia's neck. The Abrams turned its turret to the right from where the arrows came. Somehow, several archers managed to sneak up on the roofs. Its 120mm gun fired an HE shell at point blank range into the two story house from where the arrows came. The first floor exploded, sending the roof and walls flying into the air. Then, the Bradley started to pick out the Empire's defenders who engaged the U.S. infantry in melee combat. Everybody was fighting his small hand to hand battle. Shortly after they were ambushed, the American soldiers killed the last Imperial trooper. Six of their men were injured and immediately evacuated to a field hospital outside town.

Just a few buildings away, on another street, Japanese infantrymen were advancing towards the castle. They had the support of two Type 74 tanks. They had already fended off several enemy soldiers who were waiting for them, ready to jump at any moment on the unsuspecting soldiers of the JSDF. They advanced two hundred meters before they came face to face with another group of Imperial soldiers who charged them immediately. The Japanese opened fire with their Howa Type 64 rifles and cut down several of their attackers. The fight degenerated again into a close quarter engagement between soldiers of the Earth Allied Army and Imperial Army.

One of the tanks was suddenly hit by a fireball from the side, it came from an alleyway. The shock of the magic fireball's explosion blew the Type 74's right track off and immobilized the steel monster. The tank's turret traversed 90 degrees to let the machinegun come to life and send lead into the alleyway from where the fireball came, the bullets were then followed by a 105mm shell who buried the alley in rubble. But the mage who casted the spell already left the scene.

"Sir, we are immobilized! Right track was blown off!" one of the Type 74's crew reported the damage to his tank commander.

"Forget it! I'll call for a maintenance unit to put on a new one. Attention everyone, our tracks were blown off, we are immobilized! Proceed without us."

An AH-1 flew overhead of the tanks and fighting soldiers and launched several missiles at his target, behind the row of houses. Some Japanese soldiers took out their knives and used them to stab their foe wherever the armor was absent. It turned into a bloody close encounter.

* * *

 **1** **st** **Earth Allied Army HQ**

"Col.. General! Out units have engaged the enemy in combat within the town. We have injured and one dead… and an immobilized Type 74. They seem to use hit and run tactics. It looks like our troops even engaged in melee combat." one of the men in the HQ reported. He almost got Dietrich's rank wrong when he wanted to address to him.

"Tell every unit to proceed carefully! Don't take reckless risks and have infantry check every block! Send in the main reserve to secure every house, check every house for Imperial soldiers. If one civilian gets shot at, I'll personally execute the one who fired at them! I want zero collateral victims! Rout out every enemy soldier from Bravil."

"Yes, sir!" the radio operator replied before forwarding Dietrich's orders.

* * *

 **Castle Bravil**

It was long past midday when the Sun was making its way towards the western horizon. Dietrich's men secured the town after a long day of fighting isolated Imperial soldiers in Bravil's streets. The defenders were pushed back to the castle's walls. Tanks, APCs, IFVs, SPGs and infantry ready to storm the stronghold at any moment.

The defenders were asked to surrender but their reply came in the form of arrows. Pissed off, Cpt Reed who was in charge of the American tank units and present at the scene, ordered the SPG to blast the gates open. The 155mm gun was pointed at the gates. Everybody was ready to assault it when the order was given. Then, the Japanese SPG fired its gun, slamming a 155mm shell into the gates and bringing them down. Then, the A-10s strafed the walls once more before the infantry accompanied by light and heavy armor went in to secure the castle. They had to check every room before the mission could be declared a success. Within a day, Dietrich and his forces secured the town and castle of Bravil. Now they were preparing to move into the mountains. Italian and Japanese troops were taking their designated positions on the southern flank of the pass in preparation for the next day. So were the Canadians and Germans on the northern flank. The U.S. troops were making ready to push on the main road. General Dietrich requested extra troops to secure Bravil and the surroundings for when he moves forward with the front lines.

* * *

 **Special Region, North of Italica**

 _Meanwhile_

As allied troops were securing Bravil, RCT3 was on the move again. After a good night's rest, they resumed their mission. The vehicles were in their usual line up.

Itami was gazing upon the green hills, forests and fields they were passing by. Everybody was mostly silent. Kurata switched the radio to the frequency used by the 1st EAA. Reports kept coming in on the channel.

" _Command, we have engaged enemy infantry. Requesting support, we have several wounded here. Injuries inflicted by stabbing, cutting or arrows." an American voice spoke._

" _Dispatching a MEDEVAC convoy. Hold your position."_

" _Copy that."_

" _We've hit 'em! We got their walls down!"_

" _Nice one, Warthogs!"_

" _Shit! Requesting immediate assistance! We've been ambushed!"_

" _Attention everyone, our tracks were blown off, we are immobilized! Proceed without us."_

" _AGH! Fix bayonets, men! This will get ugly!"_

"Things are not looking great over in Bravil." Kurata said.

"You didn't expect them to go down without a fight, did you?" Jackson replied on the unit's radio channel.

"I wonder how they managed to blow the tracks off a tank." Erwin said with much surprise to his voice.

"Who knows…" Itami replied. "I am more concerned about our guys' lives. I hope they'll be alright."

"Lieutenant, we are approaching the village you marked on our map." Kurata got Itami's attention. He brought his binoculars up. Up on a large hill was a small agricultural village. The people were tending to their livestock or working the fields around. They didn't pay a lot of attention to RCT3 initially but as they drew closer to the village, the inhabitants took an interest in the strangers.

RCT3's vehicles came to a halt in the village center. People were gathering around them, bolder children coming forth to touch the strange horseless carts. Itami dismounted his vehicle with Kuribayashi, Sgt Jackson and Pvt Lewis flanking the two. Their faces covered as usual by their skeletal balaclavas and tactical goggles. All four were in full gear.

Itami came forth and spoke to the small crowd. "Hello! We'd like to speak to the village elder."

The locals were looking around for their elder. From the crowd, two older twins approached Itami. "We are the closest thing you will get to a village elder, traveler." one of them spoke. "Village elders are in the southern regions. Here, we have a representative chosen by the locals from time to time but we take decisions together."

"I see. Excuse me, I did not know." Itami apologized with an awkward smile. "You see, we are looking to explore the Romaria Mountains and this region. I was wondering if you could help us with information." the leader of RCT3 says as he takes out several silver coins to pay for the information.

The two representatives of the village looked at the coins and nodded to each other. They accepted them and invited Itami to sit down on a nicely carved trunk, like a bench. "What kind of information would you like to know?"

"Well… how many passes are there through the Romaria Mountains?"

"There are three important passes, the closest one is to northeast of our village. I don't know how many days it would take you to get there since we never bothered to go there. Then there are two other much further to the west."

"What is to the north of here?"

"Some small forests and the mountains."

"Are there any notable structures?"

"There are the ruins of an old fort to the northeast. Other than that, there are several villages spread around the land."

"I see. I would like to ask you one more thing. What can you tell me about Hardy?"

"Why are you asking about her, traveler?"

"She kind of kidnaped one of our friends and we want to save him. We need to know more about Hardy beforehand."

"I am sorry to tell you this… but… if somebody gets involved with Hardy on a more personal level… then they are most certainly going to die soon…"

"Is she so frightening and dangerous? I remember Rory telling me she hates Hardy."

"Rory the Reaper!? Well…it is known that Hardy wishes to marry Rory for a long time now. We don't worship Hardy. But according to those who travel to Italica to trade for the entire village, rumors have it that the past few years Hardy has become something like a demented goddess. More than that… I don't know what to tell you."

Itami sighed and let his head fall into his palm. "Ahh… Thank you very much for your time. We'd be going then."

"Wait!" one of them said. "By any chance, do you come from Alnus?"

Itami was taken by surprise. "Yes, we do. Why is that?"

The two brothers nodded to each other and one got up and went inside a house. A few minutes later, he came out with a man looking like he's in his thirties. He had Japanese facial features. RCT3 members were surprised to see a Japanese here.

"Are you Japanese, good man?" Itami asked him.

The man lifted his head to show a beaten face. He replied with a low voice. "Yes… I am."

"He escaped from one of the mines in the mountains a few weeks ago. He was beaten and looked really bad when our hunter found him in the nearby woods. As soon as I've seen you…I thought you might be people of the same kind."

"Kuribayashi! Call in a helicopter from FOB Italica, now! We have to get him to a hospital!" Itami ordered his subordinate as he rushed to help the man stand up. "What's your name? Where are you from, how did you get here?"

"Hiroki… I was a long time ago walking through Ginza with my fiancé, Noriko, when we were abducted by some strange people… They treated us like they owned us. I got separated from Noriko… what happened to her? Did you find her?" he replied.

"Who is… no. I don't think we found her. Tell me everything you know, Hiroki."

"Well… shortly after they kidnapped us… they separated Noriko from me. And we were not the only ones. There are others from where I was being forced to work as a slave in the mine… Japanese… one Korean man… and one American. We never got to see the women since that day… please, save Noriko and the others."

"Who kidnapped you?"

"Some strange people in medieval armor. I guess they were soldiers… I have a lot of questions too…but I could use some sleep beforehand…"

"Shit! Kuribayashi!" Itami shouted. Kuribayashi came out of the Humvee and informed her CO: "Lieutenant! A Huey is on its way here!"

"Get Kurokawa here! Take him into the light truck and have him treated."

"Yes, sir!". Jackson and Lewis helped Hiroki to the vehicle. Itami turned again to the village representatives: "How many mines are there?"

"Quite enough. This man seemed to come from the Petra mines. The mines are exactly to the east of here. We sheltered him from the soldiers who came looking for him."

"Thank you very much for your kindness!" Itami bowed. "If you don't mind, we'll be staying here a few hours longer before leaving. We need to help our man here."

"Take your time, travelers. You are welcome. If I'm not mistaken…you are the ones who helped defend Italica from brigands, right? All the way from Alnus you came."

"Yes. And thank you for your generosity!" Itami said again before walking in a hurry to his Humvee. _'Damn Empire! Slave!? Slave in a mine!? This is outrageous! Agh! Why… You bastards!'_. Itami was very angry on what they uncovered. He reached for the radio and gave a report to Alnus about their current situation. After noting on the primitive form of democracy that's going on in this village, on Hardy and Hiroki and the possibility of existing more slaves from Earth, Itami asked for permission to immediately mount up a rescue operation. "Yes, sir! Please inform the general right now. We have the possible location of the others. East of here, Petra mines. Sir, as soon as Hiroki is evacuated, I'll take my command east and prepare a rescue operation… How can I wait for permission!? There is no time left to waste! … I apologize… Yes. Thank you." and he hung up.

Kurata: "What is wrong, lieutenant?"

Jackson: "Sir, what did Alnus say?"

Itami: "We have to wait before we make a move…"

Jackson: "Sir, we have the obligation to help those people right now."

Itami: "Yes, I know. That is why as soon as Hiroki is up in that MEDEVAC helicopter, we'll change our plans and go east. I expect the general to give us green light. And if he does, I want to be as close to those mines as I can."

Erwin jumped off his tank and came near Itami and Jackson. "Lt Itami, we have no idea about the terrain and any detail…"

Itami: "We will take our time to scout it out and come up with a plan. Anyway, I don't expect this thing to go quiet. Most likely… you, Erwin, will have to go in, guns blazing! Agh! We'll come up with strategy of sorts along the way! I'm too angry right now to come up with something good…"

Erwin: "It is understandable. Calm down… Let's wait for that helicopter and we'll leave…"

* * *

 **AN:** So, here is the latest chapter, guys! I hurried it up a bit because I wanted you to have it as soon as possible because there won't be a new chapter any time soon (next 3-4 days). Please leave your thoughts, critics and ideas in the reviews! I greatly appreciate them as they help me perfect myself and know what your expectations are. Please review!"


	21. Ch 21 - I Love Humanity & I Hate Humans

**IMPORTANT:** I screwed up something in the previous chapter. The mines are in the mountains to the EAST! Not west as I said initially, corrected it. Sorry! To the west are only plains and hills, no mountains.

 **Mandalore:** We still have to get to him before we figure something out :p

 **The Tundra Fox:** Sorry! I didn't mean it to sound like 'Earth! Fuck yeah!', maybe the US troops have this to them and it is them who make it look like it through their attitude in my story :p

 **Shintokyo:** It would take a hell lot of time to burn entire mountains, it would pose significant ecological problems later on and there is the prospect of the fire spreading like crazy on the entire mountain range, the smoke would make the area uninhabitable and entire towns and villages would be evacuated.

 **Ferduran:** Alistair is British, he met Itami at a joint exercise which took place in the US. It is a common practice nowadays for countries to send their troops to train with other armies in international training/exercise programs. NATO has plenty of them. I will make a separate chapter soon enough with a few words on the characters. I avoided polishing out every OC because they only make an appearance from time to time. OCs such as Alistair and Alia and Erwin will have their characters stand out more because they are more involved in the action, we see them more often.

 **Recordman:** That is why Dietrich designated certain streets which could fit heavy armor :p and that is why they had them evacuated. Not advancing on every street there was, or alleyway. But they advanced on several wider streets chosen in preparation for this battle.

* * *

 _'Entry X:_

 _Man is not what he thinks he is. He is what he is hiding. (_ _André Malraux)_ _'_

* * *

 **Chapter 21: I Love Humanity & I Hate Humans**

* * *

 **Special Region, outskirts of Bravil**

 _D-Day + 42 day, evening_

Arlette and Jun were finally allowed to go into the town after the fighting was over and the EAA declared the town as safe after eliminating the Imperial soldiers or taking them prisoners, depending whether they surrendered or fought to the end. Right and left, where Jun pointed the camera were tired or wounded soldiers. Most of them had minor injuries, those who were injured badly had been evacuated to a field hospital. Then, from the direction of the castle, an APC with a red cross on it came in high speed. Behind the APC was a short column of Imperial prisoners who were escorted by Japanese soldiers. Jun wanted to come closer, he wanted to catch them in more detail, but a soldier stepped in and blocked him from approaching the prisoners.

They were all battered, dirty of dust and blood and sweat. Arlette was just standing there, a bit overwhelmed by the sight of soldiers returning from battle, of prisoners being marched behind the front lines, by the tanks, helicopters and other vehicles who happen to pass by.

' _What happened there?'_ she asked herself. _'Is this how men look like after they have seen death? That man is even missing his left hand… God! He looks bad…'_

"Arlette! Snap out of it!" Jun brought her back to reality.

Arlette turned her eyes from the soldiers to Jun's recording camera, now fixated on her face. "Jun… they came from battle…"

He gesticulated frantically until Arlette understood what he meant to say. "Go and talk to them."

The two reporters approached a small group of Japanese and American soldiers who were resting on a few crates, smoking and chatting. They had dirt on their faces and a US soldier's gear was stained with blood. Silence fell when the two reporters approached them, totally gaining their attention.

What looked like an American sergeant spoke first: "So…how can we help you, ma'am?"

Arlette: "Hello! We are one of the two reporter teams. Can you tell us what happened?"

"War happened, ma'am."

Arlette and Jun were taken by surprise by the sergeant's answer. "Ehm… we were interested in details about the battle today."

"We know you are. But there is nothing pretty to it. Good people died on both sides. If you wanna have a look, be my guest. Twenty or so minutes walk down this large street. If they haven't already picked the bodies of the Imperials …go ahead."

Arlette seemed to cower back when the soldier mentioned bodies. She was definitely not made up for this kind of stories. She thought she had what it takes to be a war correspondent with Jun. This man was questioning her resolve with words, let alone when she sees the face of a battlefield.

When he noticed the French woman glaring into the void, he snapped his fingers and said: "But if you… really want to get some stories from me… I can help you with that."

Arlette: "That would be nice."

"Alright. I'll go through this only once, so record it all. And if you want more…walk down the street."

* * *

 **Special Region, Fel'kren**

 _D-Day + 43 days_

A day passed since the town fended off another costly attack from Hardy's abominations. Everybody was on high alert, the atmosphere was tense. The JSDF's F-4s dropped another package but this time it is for the town itself – they brought food and water, vital resources since there were no hunters brave enough to hunt or caravans to trade with the threat of the winged demons looming in the skies.

The British soldier came inside the inn with some MREs from his personal drop. "Here, Vigor!" he said as he put them on Vigor's bar.

"What is this?" he asked.

"Meals ready to eat. Military rations from my world. I have been distributing these to the townsfolk the whole morning. And this is from the first drop. Have some, they are good enough."

"Why is your army so preoccupied with our wellbeing?" Vigor asked.

"I've told you when we first met… We are not here as conquerors or anything like that. No. We are here to get the ones responsible for the mindless slaughter of hundreds of people in my world during an attack on a friendly sovereign nation. It just so happens that I got thrown in the middle of this bullshit with Hardy and ended up here. The army went looking for me and the other three who died some days ago… And they brought some nice things."

"When will they come in full force?"

"Ah, that I don't know. As far as I know they were busy kicking ass in Italica and preparing for the following battles with the Imperial Army. They are a fair amount of distance from here. Probably they'll never come or be here in a few months. I can't tell you for sure… there are too many factors to consider when you plan a military campaign."

"I see…"

"By the way, have you seen Alia?"

"She's in her room. Didn't come out the whole morning."

"What happened to her?"

"You tell me… she's obviously upset on something or someone… I swear, Alistair, if you break her heart…I'll break your head."

He was taken aback by the sudden threat. "Listen, Vigor… I don't know what is going on here either… She suddenly changed her mood when I told I was supposed to be in jail by now."

Vigor's eyes turned took a wolf's gaze. "What did you do?"

"Well, apparently killing somebody who murdered, raped and stole is wrong. Considering the fact that they were soldiers of the Empire. We caught them in the act… We killed some of them and then others surrendered. And I went about killing the ones who took part in this lawlessness. My commanders seemed to dislike what I did and, to be fair, according to our military's rules, I broke them and I could live the rest of my life in prison." Alistair explained to Vigor with a blank face and resting on his right elbow in the counter.

Vigor stood there in silence, as if waiting for more. But Alistair kept silent. "Are you serious!? Is this all that is?"

"What did you expect more?"

"In any army within Falmart this would be ignored and overlooked. But you have actual rules for your enemies, said enemy was guilty of rape, murder and theft?" Vigor asked stupefied.

"Yep… Funny, isn't it? Rules on how to kill and wage war…"

"These are serious crimes. One could easily be executed for these according to our laws… Do you think this upset her?"

"It could have…"

"To be fair, Master Askil was a man of honor and indulgence. He never killed a man who surrendered and was ready to give second chances. We had our arguments on that particular topic… stubborn old man."

"I don't think too good of the kind of scum I had to deal with either. Well, I'll go talk to her. She should stop acting like she is a 15 year old high school girl."

With this, Alistair took slow steps towards the staircase.

' _Girl, why do you hate the monster I am? I can feel it is hate, I've felt it before from others… Now that I think of it again…how the hell did I turn into a certified cold blooded killer? A soldier is nothing more than a murderer who doesn't have to answer before the judges. Am I nothing more than the product of 20+ years of service and deployment into hot spots? How could others and I not? Why did I not change?'_

' _Right, you fool! Mack…lad, I think we have more in common than I initially thought. Well… in the end… this will happen. I grew too accustomed to being what society masquerades itself not to be and dislike. Am I ac..? No! I am not. She is a good person… I don't think she is hiding her true self… Not unlike me – a murderer. I could even call upon my self-pride and call myself a hero.'_

He stopped before her door and took in a deep breath.

' _Not the hero you deserve… the hero you need. Because if you, humanity, were to get the hero you deserve, then you'd be no more.'_

He knocked on the door. No response.

' _But who am I to think like this about humanity? I am one of the people who have seen what humans do. Despite this… how can I pass judgment on humanity, even if I pass it in my mind with no real effects?'_

He knocked on the door with no response for a second time.

"Alia." Alistair said a bit loud to make sure his voice could be heard inside the room. "Come on, girl. Stop acting like a child. I know you're in there, just tell me what's wrong."

A few seconds of silence followed. Then, the door opened slightly to reveal half of Alia's face with her dark blue hair covering it, with a little space for her left eye to be able to see. "You." was here dumb reply before trying to close the door. Alistair parked his right leg between the door and its frame.

"Alia, what the bloody hell is going on here?"

"Leave me alone. I have to think things out."

"You haven't had anything to eat. Wha-… What is going on with you? Vigor is worried about you too."

"Someone has to be. Or it wouldn't be humanly right then."

"Are you upset on me?"

She directed her eye towards the floor. Alistair took it as a yes. "Why are you upset on me? Is it because I took care of some damn scum?"

Alia opened her door to let him in. She then spoke: "Kind of. The Frost Guard does not strike down those who surrender. It contradicts my code and everything my master taught me. And it contradicts things in my soul. I have questions on my mind that cannot be shared or answered by or with anyone."

"Listen… I never said I was the best person in the world. I never was and I never will be. I can understand where your morality comes from, but it is complete bullshit."

"How dare you call the code of the Frost bullshit? The teachings of my master?" she cried furious.

"If you want to condemn me for what I did, then be my guest. You wouldn't be the first. Unlike you and the majority of the kind who like to sit on a moral pedestal, I have seen what people the kind I killed did. And it is nowhere near as forgivable. The Imperial officer and his men murdered! I repeat, they murdered. They murdered the father. Then they raped his wife and his daughter who didn't seem past 16 or 17. And then, by the right of theft, as if that is any right, they claimed their belongings."

Alistair grabbed her by the shoulders. "Now look into my eyes and tell me, with all honesty, that this kind of people deserves any mercy."

Alia gazed into his pupils, her eyes were searching for something. _'He is so cold and resigned with this kind of things… No every day man has this cold look in his eyes. Al, why do you speak like you could pass judgment like that on your foes?'_

"How can you decide like that who deserves to die and who does not?" she asked him.

"Would you like to feed those who do such things when they are in jail? Hm? I don't want to let vermin infest the world. You have your moral code and I have mine. And what if I turned them over to local lords to punish them? Wouldn't they have done the same? You see, Alia… the world we live in is pretty cruel and beautiful. I won't be staying in this life for too long… and I want to leave it cleaner than I found it."

"That still does not explain how you can be so cruel with some people."

"Agh… being a soldier for more than 20 years tends to twist you. To see your friend blow up… See innocent people murdered in cold blood by some nutjobs… See children beheaded and women run over by tanks… You know…this kind of makes you sick of the kind of people who commit such things. They do it because they feel like it is the right thing… because it amuses them or who knows what fucked up reason. I am not a saint. Nor am I the greatest sinner. My job is to protect the people, the innocent. I think that by taking out the vermin who committed such atrocities against the people kind of helps me get the job done."

She took his hands off her shoulders and turned away from him. She walked to the table and sat there, contemplating. Alistair, before leaving her alone again, told her: "I will not ask for your forgiveness. Not yours, not anyone's. I do what must be done. This is how I see it. Consider me… a necessary evil of sorts… A monster who eats other monsters."

Just as he was about to leave the room, Alia threw a remark. "You fought monsters, you ate monsters… now you are a monster, Al."

He froze in his spot. "You know… a man called Nietzsche said the same thing you said but he used other words. He died more than a century ago."

This picked her curiosity. "What did he say?" she asked.

Alistair turned around a bit to show the right side of his face as he answered her question. "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you."

He then left her alone in the room. _'Wise man, whoever said that, this Nietzsche. You certainly do make a good point. But it still goes head to head with my code so far… Al… get back here, climb from that abyss.'_

Meanwhile, as he walked along the hallway towards the staircase to get out for a stroll, Alistair was thinking too. _'I am the one who dirties his hands for others to live peacefully. And yet I they are so quick to stain me with mud for what is the right thing to do if you want to give an example and make sure things like this never happen again.'_

At the last word he spoke to himself in his mind, he came to a halt. His eyes looked like they have seen something extremely disappointing. _'What the bloody hell… only a psychopath would say the things I told her, the things I am thinking.'_

* * *

 **Special Region, Bravil, 1** **st** **EAA HQ**

 _Meanwhile_

Dietrich was busy, dawn 'till dusk. He had to coordinate his men, keep in touch with Hazama and prepare to move on with the operation. Due to the fact that he needed extra manpower to defend the town and provide a temporary police force for the locals, he postponed the push into the mountains by a day. He didn't like the fact that the townspeople didn't trust his men. They were seen as an invading force which was true. But they were not brutes like the people are used to. Everything was pissing him off. He found the task of commanding the newly formed army very demanding from a psychological point of view. His highest ranking officers such as Major Dante, LtCol Clemson, LtCol O'Neill and Col Kengun were with their men, waiting for the signal to push forward and secure the pass. Aircraft were flying over the town and towards the mountains where they would occasionally scout for enemy units and engage them. The trees were a pain in the ass when it came to spotting because they were providing good cover. Although, contrary to the orders issued by General Tasius, some of the Imperial soldiers under his command lighted campfires in easy to spot locations – only to be attacked by the A-10s.

* * *

 **Alnus Base, Hazama's office**

 _Meanwhile_

General Hazama was in his office arguing with two of the observers sent by the UN. He was obviously angry.

Hazama: "Listen very carefully, sir. You are forbidden into the armory. You have nothing to do there. The last thing I need is some civilian running around with a gun or sticking his nose where he should not. You are here to observe the ongoing activities of the military."

Observer #1: "General, I highly doubt you are using only conventional weapons. I had to check for myself."

Hazama: "Even if we used chemical weapons, if this is what you actually believe to be the case, then why would we store them in the armory? The proof lies out there, on the battlefield at the hill's foot. Go and see for yourself, take soil samples and whatever you like to test for chemical weapons. The next time you do something like this, I'll have you sent back to Earth, sir! Ask for authorized military personnel if you want to explore certain places restricted to unauthorized people!"

Observer #2: "General, I would like to ask you why you are wasting time and resources on this …Lieutenant Alistair. He was either way going to be convicted for the shooting of prisoners. Why do you want to get him back? Why not focus on the real deal which is th operation through the Dumas?"

Hazama was very upset at this man's question. He could barely hold his rage. _'How the hell did these two idiots got elected to be on the observers committee?'_ was the question on his mind. "Listen, you are not somebody in position to ask me such questions. Now please, leave my office before you say more stupid things and make me angrier. YANAGIDA! Please show these two gentlemen here the way out and send Rory in here."

Yanagida came inside and followed the general's orders. After the two left, Rory came in.

Rory: "You wanted to speak with me?"

Hazama: "Yes, miss Mercury."

Rory: "Just call me Rory, general."

Hazama: "Right, Rory… Thank you for coming here. As Yanagida may have already told and explained you, we have a situation on our hands."

Rory: "Yes, Hardy is at it again…"

Hazama: "Since you are a very important religious figure for the people here, I presumed you possess information regarding Hardy. Like…why is she doing this?"

Rory: "General, Hardy seems to have gone mad recently… She is also in love with me by the looks of it and this trick she's pulling out may be her next attempt for something to happen. She even opened the gate, you know… Now the other gods, Emroy included, are trying to keep her in check. She got away with some things, but they don't allow her anymore to do all she pleases. She opened portals to the underworld in some places across the continent."

Hazama: "How do you know all this? And can you tell us more about these creatures? Our planes took a few pictures too…"

Rory: "My god, Emroy, tells me everything he thinks is important for me to know. And Hardy won't stop at this. Right now, she is not allowed to send any more of her servants through the portals she opened. So your man, Alistair, should be alright for the time being. But he is not really safe. Hardy might strike again somehow… I hate her… I refuse to spend the last 40 years on this earth as her wife. Regarding these monsters…they are Hardy's servants. She can create as many as she pleases, as long as the divine magic that bounds them to her is not broken. By killing the people, she is obtaining their souls. Her demons can trap the soul of their victim and send them to Hardy instead of letting them go to their adequate afterworld. Somehow I feel like she wants to use those souls to arouse me… send them to Emroy through me… is just my speculation."

Hazama: "This is great… a demented goddess… is there any way this can be dealt with by humans?"

Rory: "Since you can fight back against her servants, you have a chance. But you can't do anything against her personally. Only the other gods contain her right now, with her outburst of lunacy."

Hazama: "Is there any way she could close the gate to our world?"

Rory: "Not really. Every divine wants to let the gate be. They find it interesting. The people and the world on the other side. Some of the more benevolent gods even see you as a great addition to this world. The general attitude is as it follows: they are entertained by you and see you as intriguing and a game changer. So they decided to keep the gate open."

Hazama: "This is indeed surprising and a lot of information… I have one more question. Right now, RCT3 is on a mission. But as soon as they finish their mission, I want to send them north to retrieve Alistair and, with some luck, the bodies of the other three British soldiers. Would you like to accompany Itami and his team on that particular mission?"

Rory smiled before answering: "It would be my pleasure, general!"

* * *

 **Special Region, RCT3 location**

 _D-Day + 43 days_

The previous day, after encountering a Japanese citizen who was used as a slave in the mines by the Empire and having him evacuated via helicopter, Lt Itami Youji received a green light from General Hazama to locate these mines, scout them and conduct a rescue mission if they deemed it possible without extra reinforcements. If things went south, FOB Italica had three helicopters ready to intervene by bringing reinforcements and providing close air support for RCT3.

The ride was a pleasant one once more. Some clouds to the north, the rest of the sky clear. The Sun bathing everyone and everything in its warm light. Right now, Itami was more busy thinking a strategy to go in, save the people and get out without casualties. The past days took a toll on him.

Members of RCT3 were now talking to each other through radio.

Itami: "Kurokawa, please make sure we have everything ready to treat any injured. I expect to find some of them, if not all, beaten like Hiroki or even worse."

Kurokawa: "Yes, Lt!" the combat medic of RCT3 replied.

Itami: "Matsumoto, have every heavy portable weapon ready."

Erwin: "What is the plan, Lt Itami?"

Itami: "I want to scout the mining camp before I come up with anything good. Right now, without any information on the layout of the buildings, holding cells, barracks of the guards and terrain, I'd simply go for a distraction and smuggle everyone out."

Erwin: "I guess the distraction will be my tank, right?"

Itami: "Yep!"

Jackson: "Sir, what if we can't bring _Hussar Three_ with us? They said it is in the mountains."

Itami: "More like on a mountain slope. We could bring the Leopard along if Erwin sees it fit to traverse the terrain."

Erwin: "We don't have a choice, Lt. We'll force our way through rock and sand to reach the objective."

Kurata: "That's the spirit, Lt Erwin!"

Erwin: "Oh, why, thank you! I hope I am not the only one full of energy right here."

Kurata: "Not really. I am looking forward to save some nice girls, maybe even more cat girls like Persia-san!"

Kuribayashi: "BAKA! All you have on your mind are dirty things with unhumans!"

Tomita: "That sounded kind of racist, Kuribayashi."

Everyone erupted in a mild laughter at Tomita's remark.

Kuribayashi: "It was not supposed to be racist."

Kurata: "Oh well, no wonder she has no boyfriend… despite being in the army. Do you push men like that with racist remarks?"

Tozu: "Those would be… sexist!"

Kuribayashi: "Takeo, Daisuke! Do you two have a death wish?"

Jackson: "Guys, you lucky you're not with her in the vehicle. She's steaming red."

Lewis: "Uhm, sir… maybe you should not piss her off more. She looks damn mad, like a lobster red."

Kuribayashi: "Oy! You British brat! I heard that!"

Itami just face palmed when on the radio could be heard Kuribayashi trying to reach for Lewis on the backseat but Jackson and Kuwahara were holding her back.

Kuribayashi: "Let me have him! Pops, what are you doing?"

Kuwahara: "Calm down, girl!"

Lewis: "Ayyyy! She turns more and more red when she gets angry."

Kuribayashi: "That's it! You're dead!"

Jackson: "AGH! The attack of the big titty monster!"

Erwin: "You clowns…"

Then, Jackson got punched by Kuribayashi. "Auch! Dammit, calm down, mate!"

Kuribayashi: "Don't you 'mate' me!"

Jackson: "Bloody hell, who would mate with you?"

Kuribayashi: "Ohohohoho! You mean to say you don't find me attractive? I've seen you staring at my breasts, sergeant!"

Erwin: "Peeeeer-veeert!"

Jackson: "What the..!"

Kurokawa laughed at this one too: "Busted!"

Kuribayashi: "So you don't deny it?"

Matsumoto: "Sergeant Jackson, you are certainly on the spotlight right now."

Lewis: "Oy, guys, leave him be, he is blushing r.. OUCH!"

Jackson: "Shut up, greenhorn!"

Itami: "Guys, as much as I'd like to see Kuribayashi go berserk on the two of you and laugh at you two being chased by her, preserve your energy."

Kuribayashi: "Tch! Who are you siding with, lieutenant?"

Itami: "Hmm… the guys are funnier. But you are the girl… would it be sexist to reply to this question?"

Kuribayashi: "Exactly the kind of shit an otaku would say!"

Kurata: "Hold it right there, Kuribayashi!"

Erwin: "Alright, folks! It was funny but let us not fight each other."

After the little fun they had, silence fell on the radio channel for a while. After several hours of driving, the team reached a small forest with a creek running on its border. In the distance was a column of smoke.

Itami: "Alright folks, looks like we made it."

Erwin: "What's with the smoke?"

Itami: "They have a smelter here. Whatever they extract from this mountain, some of it is processed right here. Alright, I'll leave Erwin in command. Hide the vehicles near that small forest. Kuribayashi, Tomita, you're with me. Let's see what's up ahead."

After what seemed like seven hours, Itami, Tomita and Kuribayashi rejoined their friends. As they set up a camp for the night, Itami explained everything they noticed and the plan of action.

Itami: "Alright. So, we are dealing with like 70 armed guards in the main compound. Their barracks are in the middle. The mines are covered by three mountains on three sides – north, east and south. The people work during the day and that is when the security is at its highest. There are three watchtowers, two on the side where the entrance is on the western side, and one to the mid eastern section. The slaves' buildings are the largest ones, you cannot miss them. They are on the left side of the dirt road from the gate. The walls are made of wood, by the way. They pose no danger, we can breach them anywhere. There might me more mines around here. I have my reasons to believe so. But we will rescue the slaves working in this one. We estimate their numbers at around three to four hundred."

Erwin: "That is a lot of people… how do we get them out?"

Itami: "I was thinking of hitting early in the morning or at dusk, that is when we are sure to find them in their living quarters. Erwin, you will go in, blow away the three towers and wreck havoc on the guards while we evacuate the slaves. Command agreed to send 6 Chinooks to evacuate them as soon as possible and drop them at Italica. We just have to let them know when we move into position to strike and they'll be here when we need them."

Jackson: "Didn't think they'd give us six helicopters for this…considering what is going on in Bravil…"

Erwin: "I guess we were lucky. Itami, what is the plan of approach?"

Itami: "This creek will lead us right to the main gate if we follow it. The terrain looks more than good for your tank. And we even spotted a good place for the choppers to land, in a clearing close to the western gate. Erwin's tank will lead the attack. Blast open the doors and do your work – keep them busy. The rest, we'll move in with our vehicles. Split in four teams to get everyone out of the four large buildings. The LAV will be our backup, shall any guards slip past Erwin. The main goal is to get the prisoners and slaves out. Understood? Are there questions?"

"Yes, sir! No questions, sir!"

Itami: "Get some rest… I'll go tell command we hit early in the morning. Helps a lot our pilots with landing. Rest well and eat well!"

* * *

 **AN:** Hello! I lied! Ch 21 is here way faster than I expected. I decided to write this one too and deal with my assignements on Saturday and Sunday. Please leave your thoughts, opinions, ideas, critics in the comments. Didn't do much proof reading so I apologize for the grammar errors or things like that! Review :D !


	22. Ch 22 - Turn The Page For Me

Thank you all guys for sticking with me so far and reading my story. I will answer some reviews before returning to the story. I hope you'll enjoy it.

 **Mandalore:** They are the character's thoughts, not flashbacks. It is what is going through their mind in that particular moment. Enjoy the new chapter! :D

 **Giselle:** Indeed…

 **Plantkingman1:** But for how long :p ?

 **Tundra Fox:** This is a dance on a fine rope above a deep crevice and I hope you will enjoy it in this and the following chapters :)

 **F-4 raging guests:** I know the F-4 is supposed to be a fighter-bomber. But think in the terms the JSDF is in: they have a relative low budget and don't have plenty of planes, te only thing they got is the F-4 right now with no cargo planes. It would make sense to have two modified F-4s with pods capable of holding a small package to be dropped for the survivors. I am not talking here about bloody tons of supplies, just a small amount.

 **ATP:** I do plan on bringing in more monsters in the near future. So there is more to look up for :D

 **Maroon567:** I googled it and I saw a Chinook has up to 55 seats for troop transport so I brought six of them to get the job done.

 **HiroshimaNagasaki:** He already got that.

 **Kardikek:** Itami is the first in command of RCT3 so everybody has to listen to him. It is common sense, right? I wouldn't want a whole bunch of officers arguing on what to do and kept Itami as the leader since we all love him.

* * *

 **Chapter 22: Turn The Page For Me**

* * *

 _'Entry XI:_

 _If you looked through people and glanced under their skin you would find madness and calm, good deeds and sin, tears within smiles and smiles within tears, fear within love and love within fear, peace and chaos, strength and doubts, layers and masks, inside and out._

 _But one thing you'll stumble upon is for sure the craving to be understood. More than before, they will hide it and chide it, and push you away… but inside, everyone is hoping you'll stay.'_

* * *

 **Special Region, Northeast of Italica near Petra Mines**

 _D-Day + 44 days, early morning_

The Sun was barely grazing the sky early in the morning. The Moon was growing faint and the stars were shying away from the Sun's warm light in the cold morning. Every member of RCT3 was already up and had its breakfast. Everybody was gathered around Itami. Erwin and his crewmen, Bauer, Fritz and Franz, were sitting on the tank's turret and listening to Itami. Their mission was clear: wreck havoc on the guards.

Itami was somewhat tired, he didn't sleep well. His beard was starting to slowly grow from being shaven not long ago and his hair was in disarray. He took note of his unit. Everybody was fully geared, helmets strapped beneath their chins and rifles in hand. Itami spoke:

"Good morning, everyone! As you know, today we will play the hero's role." this earned him a few small laughs from his men. "We will free those who have been forced into slavery. We are not doing this just because we have learned about people abducted from Ginza by the Empire, we are here to free every single man and woman with shackles on their hands! We leave nobody behind! Word from Bravil has that today the 1st EAA is moving in to secure the pass. Command decided to put six Chinooks and two Cobras at our disposal today to evacuate the slaves and the Cobras to escort the Chinooks. I have already radioed HQ to send the choppers. We'll move the civilians to a clearing outside the mine where the helicopters will wait for them."

By now, everybody was listening closely. Itami continued. "Sgt Jackson and Pvt Lewis, you two will take position at the gate. _Hussar Three_ will take down the gates and the watch towers. We'll then break in two teams of five. Pvt Katsumoto will man the .50 cal on the LAV with Pvt Tozu in the driver's seat. They will help fend off any guards that may slip past Erwin's tank. Erwin, you can do as you please as long as you don't hurt those we are here to rescue."

Kuribayashi couldn't help but note to herself about Itami: _'The lieutenant is really taking his position serious. He's no longer the same kind of big time slacker I met on our first mission. Heh!'_

Itami named the members of the two squads: "Squad One: me, Sgt Tomita, Sgt Kurokawa, Sgt Kurata and Sgt Nishina. Squad Two: Pops, Sgt Kuribayashi, Sgt Azuma, Pvt Sasagawa and Pvt Furuta. Did everybody hear his name?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Squad One and Two, our job is to go to every large building which we suspect to house the slaves and evacuate them to the main gate from where our British friends will direct them to the clearing. Hopefully, the helicopters will get here in due time. Any questions or suggestions regarding the plan?"

Nobody said anything, they just looked at each other before Itami smiled and said: "Alright! Get in the vehicles! We'll leave them at a tree line and make the last part of the road with the LAV or on the tank. Make maximum use of the element of surprise."

They broke the ranks and mounted their cars. _Hussar Three_ was the leading vehicle of the small convoy of 4 vehicles. After a short ride, Itami signaled the stop. They parked the Humvee and light truck between a few bushes. They then mounted the LAV or climbed on the Leopard's turret. They then resumed the ride until they came close to the camp.

Itami, from his spot on the tank, shouted: "Dismount! Dismount! Get behind the tank and use it as cover until we reach the wooden wall."

Everyone dismounted at his order. Inside the tank Erwin was ordering his crew: "Prepare three HE shells. Blast away the two watch towers first and then the gates! Fast!"

* * *

 **A SLAVE'S POV**

It was too early… damn this life… couldn't sleep and can't do anything. Maybe that's my end. The guards would have executed me sooner or later. One day, my body will give up in this shit stinking mine and camp. But I guess it is better than being a sex slave or gods know what fate women slaves end up with.

I thought this place was going to be my grave. But then…a miracle! I first heard a thunder and immediately after the thunder echoed through the air, another huge thunder came from somewhere very close. But there were no clouds. I jumped from the hay pile that served as my bed and looked out of the window. It was at that moment when I saw the watch tower in flames, destroyed, obliterated. Then, the other watch tower was engulfed in a fiery inferno. I swear I could see the guard's upper body fall to the ground with fire consuming him. The tower followed suit and crumbled down. It was the gates' turn to burn with a big explosion!

I thought it was the gods' work! The miracle I was waiting for to get out of here. By now, everybody was fighting to stick their heads out to see what was going on. Nothing in my life could prepare me for the… the thing! With screeching metal sounds, with the ground slowly trembling at its passing, the huge iron monster came through the destroyed gates. It spit fire with thunder and it was the barracks which came to burn now. I then heard someone shout in the happiest voice I ever heard: "It is a tank! We are free!"

 **END OF POV**

* * *

 _Hussar Three_ reduced the little defenses the mining camp had to burning wood. It made its way inside with speed and sent another HE round into the barracks before slamming the wooden building at high speed and crushing it beneath its tracks. Many unfortunate souls were still asleep or making ready for a new day when Erwin caused the entire building to come down on their heads with his tank.

Erwin spoke through the radio: "We got 'em! Squad One and Two, go! Go! Go!"

Itami was waiting with his men at the gate when Erwin's voice came in through the radio. "Alright, let's move!" he shouted. He took Squad One to the nearest slave building and smashed the door down with two kicks. Kurata and Kurokawa were covering them and shooting at any guard they saw. The LAV came to a halt in front of the main door and opened fire on a smaller house with the heavy machinegun. The .50 cal bullets tore through the wooden walls and the flesh of those unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end.

Itami: "Tomita, Nishina, check that house!"

"Understood!"

As the two rushed to the next house on which Katsumoto opened fire, Itami entered the first building. He noticed the scared looks on the people's faces.

"Who.. Who are you?" one of them asked.

Itami smiled and addressed them with a warm voice not to scare them more than they already were: "Don't worry, we are friends. We will free you all from here."

The men were now cheering their liberators. Slaves from the nearby buildings were now wondering what in the world was going on in this morning. Itami held his hands up to signal the men to calm down. "Get to the gates. From there you will be directed to your freedom. Go where my friends tell you to go and you will be taken to safety."

The newly liberated men were almost in ecstasy. No one was expecting to be free, ever again. But then these people came, destroying the camp and telling them that they were free now. Itami was approached by a man with Asian facial features. The man spoke in English. "There are others, in those three buildings. You must rescue them all!"

Itami nodded to him. "We will, don't worry. What country are you from? Your accent is not Japanese."

"South Korea." the man replied.

"Follow everyone, listen to my men. A couple of helicopters are on their way here to evacuate you. Go to the gates, from there two British soldiers will direct you to the evacuation point." Itami instructed the man. Shortly after, gunshots were heard from the building nearby. "Tomita, report!"

Tomita's voice came on the radio: "Had two hostiles left in the building, Lt. Looks like this one is an administrative one. Do you want us to look around for any possible intelligence?"

"Do so, Tomita. Any documents and maps you might find." Itami said as he heard gunshots again. "But be quick!"

Pops was on the radio now: "Encountered enemy infantry! Engaging! Kuribayashi has lost it again! She's stabbing them with her bayonet!"

Itami's clenched his teeth. "LAV, get over there and help them out!"

Tozu: "Roger!" and the LAV accelerated. Katsumoto traversed the gun and, as soon as they rounded a corner three buildings ahead, opened fire. The M2's roar, accompanied by _Hussar Three_ 's 120mm cannon were singing a cannonade of death. A group of men came running from Squad Two's direction. They were headed for the gates.

"RCT3, come in, please!" a stranger was hailing them on radio.

Itami reached for his chest mounted station and replied: "RCT3 Actual here."

"Ah, good to hear you, Lt Itami. Chinooks are here, landed in the designated LZ, waiting for our customers."

Itami: "You already have a lot of them headed your way. Make sure to get them to safety as soon as possible."

"Copy that."

Itami: "Thanks for the help. Hey, we'll send you some papers we found here, documents. Get them to Italica or Alnus and see what they say. I suspect they are some sort of a registry of this mine. Maybe our linguists will be able to read them 'cause I surely can't. And thanks again!"

"You're welcome, Lt."

Itami and his squad rushed to the next building to free the others. _'These fucking bastards! To lock them inside like this!'_ Itami cursed. The guards were locking the slaves inside the large buildings during the night and they had to smash down every door. They liberated every slave they could find inside the camp within an hour. As the last newly free man left the camp, RCT3 reunited at the gates.

Itami congratulated his team for a job well done. "Good job, RCT3! Is anybody hurt? … ok, nobody. That is good."

"We got the last man onboard, 324 in total. Congratulations, RCT3! General Hazama will be pleased to hear about your success today. We left you some ammo and supplies at the LZ, we took good care to camouflage it. Take care and good luck, RCT3!"

Itami smiled before replying to the pilot on the Chinook: "Thank you, guys."

They turned around to see the helicopters departing, headed towards Italica.

After a couple moments of silence, Kurata asked: "What now, Lt?"

"Now… we go get our Humvee and light truck as a start. After that, we retrieve the gift they left us at the LZ." Itami's reply came. _'Man, this was pretty tiring… Truth is that I want to just sit down in the Humvee more than anything right now.'_

* * *

 **Special Region, Fel'kren**

 _D-Day + 44 days_

Alistair was atop the western wall where a few days ago he fought alongside Alia and the town's guard in a desperate and costly defense against Hardy's madness and creatures. A few guards were scattered along the length of the wall, serving as sentries. The strip of clear land between the wall and the tree line was littered with the bodies of dead winged demons, the dead walkers and alligator-like trolls having turned to dust and blown off by the wind, the magic used by Hardy to create them having died.

He stood there alone for the most part, his eyes gazing into nothing. Like a statue, frozen in place and time, he stood there, deep in thoughts. His cold weather uniform was keeping him warm from the cold blowing winds. His thoughts were suddenly broken when a hand fell on his right shoulder. His training kicked in and immediately pivoted on the spot to see Alia.

"What brings you here, girl?" he asked.

"What are you doing here alone?" she countered his question.

Alistair turned around to face the forest and the mountains within sight before speaking again. "I was thinking about things…"

"Curious, me too."

"What's that you're thinking about?"

Alia's eyes took hold of the otherwise beautiful landscape the woods and snowy mountains were offering as she gave voice to her thoughts. "About what it means being a soldier, justice and what you said yesterday."

"And… what is that you came up with?"

"I didn't change my mind. I still believe that your actions were wrong. I will forever condemn you for them. But I will not pass judgment on you. My master's teachings are very valuable to me and to many Frost Guards."

"Always the idealist one…"

"Why don't I share your views? I've seen my master dead, people massacred indiscriminately by Hardy… her demons spared no man, woman or child. I watched my friends, my comrades, killed by the same abominations. And yet… here I am. Gone through the same things you have."

"There is a difference when a human does that and when some other creature does it. I have no doubt that you desire nothing more than to put to eternal rest everything Hardy has under her command."

She didn't have anything to say to that. She only thought to herself that Alistair was right here and she cursed it. The British continued: "There is no such thing as innocence, young warrior. It is an illusion we, as humans, entertain way too much. Every sinner has a future and every saint has a past. I just acknowledge what I am and don't brag about it more than necessary."

Alia turned her head to the left to fix Alistair when she let out the wise words. "It's hard to light a candle, easy to curse the dark instead…"

The short silence allowed the words to sink in. "Maybe it is me who hasn't enough willpower to overcome the state I'm in. I grew too accustomed to the dark. I don't know if I will ever be the kind of man to whom you might want to look up to. Hope that it never comes to looking up to me. I am a monster while you are a human. Be careful in the company of monsters that you don't slowly turn into one. And if you ever find yourself there, ask yourself if you want to be the kind of those who destroy towns or build towns." were the lieutenant's words.

Alia smiled. "Yes, you are weak. Yes, you might be a monster… But I like you. I don't know why. Is it that I am just a little girl?" she spoke as she turned around and made slow and little steps closer to him. "Was I just the princess in danger when the knight in shining armor came to the rescue? I have a hard time understanding what is going on with me… I'm a stew of feelings and opinions right now.". Alia was now centimeters away from Alistair and looking to the taller British man, looking into his eyes.

Alistair's expression was mixed. Alia couldn't read his thoughts off his face alone. He was worried, calm, happy, resigned and sad at the same time. He took a small step back, looked down on the stone. "I'm sorry, girl…" he spoke with a sad tone to his voice and raised his head to meet her eyes again. "…Turn that page for me. I cannot return your love, I cannot embrace the touch that you give."

"You keep calling me a girl again…"

He gave her a sad smile. "Aren't you one? Last time I checked yo…" and her fist found its way to his stomach. "…AH! I deserved that…"

Alia watched him lean forward in an attempt to ease the pain. She then turned around and started walking away. "Stop telling lies to yourself."

Alistair sighed heavily. "Alia! Emroy wants to laugh and shit will go down again…" he shouted as she was going back to the inn.

"WHAT!? What did you say?"

"Just as you heard…"

"Why did that come out of the blue? No warning, nothing… you just say that."

"I thought I could break the news later on… but it was on my mind and it was pressing me."

"Explain… or is this your way of trying to keep me here for a few minutes more?"

"Last night Emroy decided to do another dream trick and fuck up my sleep. And he told me that he will be entertained. And Hardy is in this again."

"You definitely know how to pick your moments to break news, Al…"

"Go and rest…"

"Wait! Hold on a minute! When will they be back?"

"Didn't say. He just said that he will watch a good fight and be entertained."

Alia growled in frustration before leaving Alistair alone on the wall. _'I swear Al, if you have something to do with this…'_

* * *

 **Special Region, Duma Mountains near Bravil**

 _Meanwhile_

The second phase of securing the pass through the mountains started. On the southern flank, Major Dante's Italian troops are the spearhead. The men were advancing by foot, the terrain being very difficult to accommodate more than a light vehicle or APC on some portions. The men had to carry most of their equipment and supplies like mules – ammo, food, water, mortars – everything. The spearhead was supposed to be two kilometers ahead of the main forces. On the Appia highway, a column of American and Japanese heavy armor was getting moving. Major Dante's job was to secure the convoy's southern flank from any ambushes. The same job had the German and Canadian troops on the northern flank. Dante also had the support of the Japanese troops to his rear.

The five hundred Italian soldiers were split in three companies: two companies of 200 soldiers each and one company of 100. The Italian troops advanced several kilometers ahead of every other unit as they were a smaller unit and moved faster.

After a while, Dante decided to check in with the other units.

Dante: "This is Major Dante. How are things going? We walked almost ten kilometers so far."

After a short break, his radio kicked in. "Major, you better hold your position. There have been some ambushes on the other units. Dig in and hold position until further notice. We need to get everyone moving to catch with you."

' _This is bad…'_ he thought to himself before asking on the radio: "Why was I not informed of this up until now?"

"We tried to get in touch with you but you simply didn't reply. Might be due to the terrain. We honestly have no idea. How far have you gone?"

Dante pulled out his map and unfolded it. He checked his surroundings and correlated any visual reference with the map. "We made it like 10 kilometers in. We are in a pretty forested area. There is some clearing here and there, I can barely see the mountain's peak from the trees."

"Roger that. Hold your ground, Major. The Japanese units are making their best to fend off the Imperial soldiers, they are being constantly harassed. Beware, the enemy is using some sort of magic. We lost a Type 74 tank."

Dante's eyes grew at the bad news. "Copy! Major Dante out." was his reply. He sighed and had a good look around. His men were getting tired of walking half a day at this pace. He was with the 41st Italian Alpine Company with a strength of 200. The 42nd was 200 strong too, while the 43rd was 100 strong. "Alright, we take a break" he shouted for those around him and told the other two companies via his radio mounted on his left chest side. The soldiers in green camouflage uniform in full battle gear sat all down on their backpacks to catch their breath.

Dante kept looking around, searching for any movement among the trees. He then instructed his men to be vigilant. _'There is no damn way they didn't see us advance this far into their territory. More likely they wanted us to reach this far. So… the 41_ _st_ _is the leading unit, 42_ _nd_ _to our rear and the 43_ _rd_ _to our left towards the Appia. We are in a decent position for now.'_

* * *

 **Appia road, with the convoy**

 _Three and a half hours ago_

The M1A2 Abrams tanks of the 1st Armored U.S. contingent were intercalated with Type 74 tanks of the JSDF and APCs. The convoy didn't make it more than two kilometers before coming under attack. The vehicles were slowly advancing on the stone road. The lead tank was a Type 74 followed by an Abrams and an American APC. The soldiers thought it was going to be a nice ride until a large fireball hit the rear of the Type 74, an explosion setting the steel on fire for a short time, the rear drive wheel was blown off. Nobody hurt it coming over the sound of roaring engines and tank tracks.

Over the comms, the Japanese tank commander reported: "We're hit! The engine is malfunctioning and our tracks have been blown! We need a recovery vehicle!"

Then, the Abrams was hit by another flame ball which came from the same direction. It was hit in the turret with no damage taken.

"Where the fuck did it come from!?"

"Contacts! 2 o'clock!"

The Abrams traversed the turret to the right and elevated the 120mm cannon. It fired a shell into a rocky formation on a cliff from where they guessed the enemy's location. By now, orders were being issued by every officer.

"Infantry, dismount! Secure the right flank!"

"What the fuck are the Italians and Japanese doing on the right side!? They were supposed to prevent this kind of shit!"

"Command lost contact with the Italians!"

"Fuck! Take cover, incoming!" an infantryman shouted and ducked for cover by the roadside when a boulder surrounded by a blue magic slammed the APC he was in and almost turned it upside down. The .50 cal machinegun mounted on it was destroyed by the boulder and the crew cursed those responsible for sending it flying on their vehicle.

"What the fuck was that!?" came a voice on radio.

"Sir, they are using damn magic." the same foot soldier reported.

"Don't play stupid jokes now, soldier!"

"I am not joking, sir. I heard the Empire had a whole bunch of mages trained for war. And that boulder was too big to be sent by a catapult."

"Dammit! Get a Warthog to drop some bombs over that cliff and in those god damn trees!"

"Already on it!"

"Watch out, we've got incoming!"

With a loud battle cry the Imperial soldiers came charging from between the trees. The American and Japanese troops who disembarked from their APCs were now deploying on the column's right side. Tanks were now sending HE shells into the scattered and advancing enemy infantry. Trees and branches were cut down when the tanks' rounds hit near them. Several soldiers of the Empire were thrown in the air by the shockwaves of the explosions. Others were cut down by the infantry's rifles.

The fact that the Imperials were charging downhill didn't help the US and JSDF troops as they closed the distance quickly and engaged the infantry in melee combat. It was degenerating again into close quarters melee engagements just like in the streets of Bravil. The tanks couldn't fire in order to avoid friendly fire.

Crossbowmen were hiding behind trees and sending bolts downrange. The swordsmen reached the convoy in their vigorous charge. One of them went for a downward slash at a private who immediately dodged sideways and kicked the Imperial legionnaire behind the left ear with the M4's stock, the blow was heavy enough to drop him cold on the ground. The same private was then stabbed in the leg by the Imperial officer who was leading the attack.

An American lieutenant was fighting for his dear life with his combat knife in hand against two foes. He managed to stab one in his underarm, causing a heavy bleeding. The other one profits of the opening in the lieutenant's defense and attempts to stab him, the bulletproof vest stopping the blade. He recovers immediately and goes for a blow to the head but only gives the lieutenant a diagonal cut across his face and cuts his right arm. If not for one of his compatriots to shoot the second Imperial, the American lieutenant would not be alive.

An APC charged in between the dueling soldiers to discourage the Empire's fighters and impose itself with its stature. After no more than a minute, just as fast as they attacked and inflicted damage and casualties on the US and JSDF, at the officer's command, the Imperials retreated back into the woods. What looked like two men in blue garments with a steel chest plate and helmet casted a magic spell which simply engulfed the trees in a mist, covering their retreating soldiers. The tanks, APCs and infantry fired their rifles, coaxial and main guns and, despite the fact that they were blind firing, they hit some of the retreating Imperials.

The damage was already done: the advance of the armored column was brought to a halt. A tank was blocking the road and they had several wounded and dead.

* * *

 **1** **st** **EAA HQ**

 _Immediately after the ambush on the armored column_

Dietrich cursed and slammed his fist into the table in frustration. _'Why the fuck isn't any Italian soldier responding!?'_

"General! An immobilized tank is blocking the road on the pass!" a radio operator reported.

"Just get it on the side of the road, dammit! Have the rest push forward with infantry deployed on their immediate flanks. Somehow they got past Dante." he ordered.

"Canadian infantry made contact with the enemy on the northern flank! Another ambush. They lost one soldier – Corporal Victoria Karp. LtCol Oliver reports that she was impaled by a sword flying at very high speed. They also made contact with what they believe to be mages helping the enemy and mobile units of crossbowmen keep harassing them."

Dietrich was not pleased by this situation, not by a country mile. This time he spoke more for himself. "The enemy was waiting for us. And they have adapted their tactics after what happened at Alnus… Their general must be good to adapt so fast. Whatever your name is, sir, we will defeat you!"

"Warthogs are giving CAS, sir. Same with the AH-1 Cobras."

"Have them RTB as soon as they expend their ammunition. Reload, refuel and get back in the air. Our air support is the best thing we got now. Call for CAS and lay waste wherever they suspect the enemy positions to be. Infantry deployed at every moment on the flanks. We under estimated the enemy once, we will not do it again. Relay these orders, now!" Dietrich ordered.

* * *

 **Duma Mountains, back with the 41** **st** **Italian**

 _Current time_

The break was short lived. Dante could swear he heard something similar to metal clinging on the other side of the small forested ridge to the south from where he and his men were resting. His gut feeling told him something was wrong. Listening to the primal instinct, he got up on his legs and put his helmet on his head, M4 in hand. He loaded a bullet on the barrel. Some of his men followed suit.

After a few seconds all hell broke loose. Hundreds of voices shouted in unison and a wall of Imperial soldiers came charging over the ridge. The major's eyes grew wide. He immediately rallied his men: "Defensive positions! We're under attack!"

With incredible speed, the Italian elite mountain troops got to the nearest cover, presented guns and unleashed a storm of bullets. The Imperials didn't let this discourage them and kept advancing. As the gap closed between the two, grenades flew through the air and exploded among their ranks. One Italian soldier was hit in the shoulder by a steel bolt, the shock of the impact sent him down on his back.

More and more bolts and arrows came flying on them and 5.56mm bullets flew back as a response.

"Mortars! Set up the mortars over there! Now! Rain on those bastards on that ridge!" Dante ordered. And as quick as that the mortar teams set up and fired the ranging shots. After correcting their aim, they fired for effect. Soon it would be the archers' and crossbowmen's turn to duck for cover with the more and more accurate mortar barrage falling on their positions.

"Bayonets! Fix bayonets! Defend yourselves!"

An Imperial shouted in his language as they came in melee range with the Italians: "Get the bastards!"

The fight was nothing short of bloody. The modern soldiers being trained in close quarters combat didn't fall behind the regular soldiers of the Empire.

Dante reached for his radio as he fired several bullets at a time. "This is Dante! We need god damn support here! Enemy attack!"

After what seemed ages, the voice of one of Dietrich's radio operators came in: "Hold your ground, Major. You are alone right now. We are diverting every reserve to deal with another enemy army. Dispatched a Cobra to your location, it is the least we can spare right now."

"WHAT!?"

"RCT3 made contact with a large enemy force and are fighting a defensive battle right as we speak. Dig in and hold out until further notice."

' _What fucking army!?'_ he asked himself.

 **TO BE CONTINUED**

* * *

Please let me know what you think of the latest chapter – character evolution and story :D your reviews are greatly appreciated so please let them flow. Also, please mention if you are interested in a Shingeki no Kyojin x GATE crossover, I've been thinking for a while now to start working on one but won't be posted until i finish the current story.


	23. Ch 23 - Bloody Road to Death

**AN:** Hello dear readers! I will answer again to your reviews before getting on with the story. Will be a longer session of answers because there was quite the number of reviews that needed answers and they were not really short either. Enjoy the latest chapter!

 **Mandalore:** You know what's going up with A &A :p the female slaves will make a debut a bit later in the story

 **Recordman:** Gods, no… the Titans would wreck havoc… I have other vile creatures in my mind, fit for a fantasy world. But the titans will be only for a SEPARATE story, a crossover. I also addressed the issue of criminal slaves :D thanks for pointing out, I kind of forgot about it and was about to mess things a bit up.

 **Ferduran:** Thank you. I thought of using them and I'm happy to see you encouraging the idea. Noted :D

 **MODERN ARMED FORCES:** But it will take a while to even write much about it. Remember that this story is my very first go at one and I am mostly coming along with it as it progresses. I only have the greater picture in mind with _'A World of Shame & Glory'_ and the smaller details are created as I go with the story. For the next story which will be a cross over, I want to give it more time to think of a very good plot. I also want to start working at it in greater detail after I finish this one because it is quite hard to do two stories at a time. Might take a while but will definitely be in the future.

 **Kevinkocher:** Here, already in action :D

 **It'sCalibra:** Thank you for your encouragements and for reading my story. I always thought that the anime and manga were really lacking in this part. There is no such conflict without casualties on both sides. Even the African tribes managed to inflict losses to the British.

 **Newbie:** I addressed the issue of guns in the very first chapter. As Yanagida said, every nation that is not Japan and helps the JSDF in the Special Region will use the M4 because it is much easier to sustain a larger force who uses one standard rifle than every country bringing in their national armies' standard issue rifle. UK brings the L85, Italy their Beretta, Germany the G36… would be a total mess when it comes to logistics and it is more realistic and combat efficient for a joint task force to use the same gun. And flamethrowers are not in use anymore, according to Wikipedia. The countries I brought in my story are no longer using flame throwers as weapons.

 **Col. Jagdtiger:** This is my go at it and I thought of it before. It is rather stupid to have such an indestructible force in a war like the one we see in the anime and manga. The Empire admittedly used guerilla tactics under Zorzal's rule and the JSDF officer who was making the tour for the representatives of other countries admitted that the fighting was harder because the Empire resorted to these tactics. Yet we see nothing to suggest that the JSDF is doing something about it. You can't simply herp-a-derp around enemy territory and get ambushed and nothing happens to you. Especially if everything is part of a fantasy world. It would be more than common sense for every kingdom to employ the aid of mages into their armed forces due to the obvious advantages they bring. And no, not everyone is here for a one sided war, even the reviews say that they find it more than normal for the Earth forces to take some casualties in a world they know little about, fighting the enemy and unknown forces in their own backyard.

* * *

 **Chapter 23: Bloody Road to Death**

* * *

 _'Entry XI:_

 _This has happened before. And it will happen again. And again. And again. And again. Who knows how many times… Only the occasional weeping wives and mothers in the cemeteries remindus of them._

 _What does it mean to a dead to be forgotten in the wilds or among ruble? Far away from home in an unknown place…Deep below the ocean waves or high in the skies. Or in the woods or in the fields. Or in trenches on the hills?_

 _What does it mean to die on a wall or below it? To feel the urge and fear to kill? To shoot a bullet, an arrow or throw a spear to kill a father, a brother, a husband… a son?_

 _Our world is built on their Oblivion. They still carry our burden.'_

* * *

 **Special Region, Northeast of Italica, Northwest of Bravil with RCT3**

 _D-Day + 44 days, before the attack on Italian troops in the mountains_

After freeing the slaves from the Petra mines and recovering their light truck and Humvee, RCT3 members moved to retrieve the contents of what the Chinooks left for them in the clearing. As they slowly made their way there on the grass along the tree line, the soldiers were in high spirits.

Kurata asked Itami: "Say, lieutenant, what if some of those we set free were actually criminals?"

Itami smiled before answering Kurata's question. "Tomita uncovered what looked like administrative paperwork, registers. We handed them to the pilots. I guess LtCol Robert is not stupid, he will look into the papers and separate those who ended as slaves because of crimes and those who ended as slaves because of other unfortunate events."

Mari Kurokawa smiled when Itami paused for a moment. "Those guilty of breaking the law will be handed to Countess Myui and trialed. That's the most likely outcome." he continued. "And we'll get our guys back home soon. But what bothers me is where they took the women…"

Kurata spoke with a serious voice, something unusual for him. "Taking into account what we've seen and heard… I would kill myself than become a sex slave or who knows what else…"

Itami put on a furious mask: "May whatever gods they believe in… spare them if they did something like that to our girls."

Kurokawa who was sitting behind Kurata got up from her seat and put her left hand on Itami's shoulder. "Lieutenant," she softly said when Itami turned his head to see her, "I hope you won't do anything that is below you or the values we stand for."

Itami relaxed once more and focused on the path. "Don't worry, Mari-san. We are the JSDF, no?"

Kurokawa gave her cute smile as her form of approving his words.

"Lt Itami, we arrived at the LZ." reported Kurata.

"Ah, good, good. Alright men, dismount and let's check what they left for us." Was Itami's order. They approached a crate covered with a net originally designed to hide tanks, blend them in with the green surroundings.

Tomita popped the crate open. Inside was food, water, ammunition for their rifles, for the .50 cal, spare clothing and several HE shells for the Leopard 2. They took everything out and put inside the vehicles. Itami reached for their long range radio station to get in touch with Alnus.

"Yes, sir. We evacuated the prisoners and retrieved the contents of the crate. Thank you! […] We will resume our original mission immediately. […] Yes, sir. RCT3 actual out."

Erwin came near him after they loaded the shells in the tank. "What now?"

Itami turned around to see Erwin in his tanker uniform. He brought out a map, extended it over the hood and leaned over it with Erwin. Itami pointed to a place just near the base of the Duma Mountains with his index finger.

Itami: "We are here."

Erwin: "We are there…"

Itami threw Erwin a glance before speaking again. "Command wants us to continue our mission of scouting for possible passes through the Romarias. I guess it will be a laid back ride through countryside… Considering we are kind of in a bad spot, taking the road we came on would be best to take us out of this forested area."

Erwin smiled. "What a shame, ey? And here we were, looking for more work…"

Itami: "Don't say that… Team, do we have everything we need?"

"We got everything in the vehicles. We are ready to go."

"Good then. Let us get moving."

* * *

 **Special Region, Northeast of Italica, with General Titus**

 _Hours after the attack on the Petra mines by RCT3_

General Titus of the Empire was marching his legion south to flank the 1st EAA and attempt an encirclement and total destruction of their army. That was his ideal goal. But he knew that would be really hard to achieve. He split his legion in three to cover more ground and be more flexible. He was riding alongside his troops when a mage came riding to his left. The mage was wearing a blue robe with a steel chest plate, helmet and other armor accessories.

He spoke to Titus: "General! I bring news from Legate Tullius and from General Tasius."

Titus: "Did their mages contact you through telepathy?"

Mage: "Yes, my lord. General Tasius says that the enemy is already making a push through the mountains. Bravil has fallen in a day. His forces managed to hold the advance of the enemy's iron elephants and is using the _'hit and run'_ strategy. He managed to isolate the spearhead of the enemy forces advancing on the southern flank of the pass and is attempting to destroy their resistance pocket. Brutal fighting has occurred in every engagement."

Titus: "Did they bring their machines of war into the woods?"

Mage: "No, my lord. General Tasius' men reported the presence of very few of those. He believes that they can't traverse the difficult terrain. He will continue to hold out as best he can. And Legate Tullius reports that his scouts spotted enemy troops."

Titus asked surprised: "What? Where?"

Mage: "They attacked the Petra mines camp and set free every worker there. The guards there were killed."

Titus: "Send this order to everyone! Hurry up and let us reach Bravil fast! Kaeso will continue on his current course, act as a flanking force while me and Tullius will face the enemy. We must expect more than just an assault party. An enemy army must be ahead. Deploy in battle formation!"

* * *

 **Back with RCT3**

Itami's Humvee was leading the other cars of RCT3 through the countryside, trying to circumnavigate a forest on their way north. What Itami and his friends didn't know was the fact that they will be fighting a delay battle with Tullius and his legionnaires.

Tullius, informed by his scouts and proceeding with Titus' orders, ordered his vanguard to deal with RCT3. From behind a hill with a few scattered trees on it a small cavalry unit emerged. They were not your usual cavalry but something like mounted archers. With light leather armor, they could maneuver with their horses way better than Empire's regular cavalry.

They brought out arrows and drew their bows, then they let the arrows fly free towards the Humvee before immediately turning around and retreating. Some arrows hit the bulletproof windshield and got stuck in it. Others ricochet off the hull. And two arrows hit the front right tire.

Kurata clenched the wheel and put the car in a slight drift. "Shit! We have a flat tire!"

Itami observed the tip of an arrow and exclaimed with a very loud voice. "These are damn sharp bodkin arrows! Don't dismount! Stay in! If these things hit you it will be nasty!"

Sgt Kuwahara's a.k.a Pops' voice came on radio: "What was that!? Lt Itami, what is your situation?"

Itami: "We have hostiles! We got a flat tire too."

Pops: "Cover their vehicle!" was the second in command's order. The LAV took position upfront with the tank on the right and the light truck behind. Itami got down from his seat with Kurata and Kurokawa following him. He walked up 'till the hilltop with his rifle in hand. Immediately as he reached the hilltop, his eyes widened. He spotted the same riders trying to circle around and attack them from another side. And they were not alone. A bunch of Imperial footmen were advancing on the hill.

Itami turned around and ran towards his team. "Enemy troops! We have enemy troops! Secure the left flank, they're coming around!"

But his warning came late. The mounted archers fired another salvo, one arrow hit Kurata in the leg when he was making ready to change the tire. He screamed when the pain reached his brain through the nerves. Then, what looked like a lightning bolt hit near the light truck and sent grass with dirt flying in the air with a small explosion.

Kurokawa dragged a bleeding Kurata between the Humvee and the tank. Others wanted to get off their vehicles to which Itami ordered as he ran behind the Humvee and started taking out something: "Stay in! Erwin!"

And another lightning-like magic.

"Already on it!" the tanker replied when the turret turned to the left and fired the coaxial gun, cutting down one of the retreating horsemen. _Hussar Three_ picked some speed and got on the top of the hill.

Franz, the gunner, reported: "Contacts! Dead ahead! Closing in! Two hundred meters!"

Erwin: "Turn the turret around! What do we have loaded?"

Fritz, the loader: "HE, sir!"

Erwin: "Fire!"

As the tank brought its turret around, from the group of advancing infantry a fireball took to the heavens before coming down on the Leopard.

"Bauer, reverse! Reverse! Reverse!" shouted Erwin to his driver.

"Already on it, leutnant!"

Just as the tank pulled back two meters, the fireball hit where they were previously. It send high temperature flames around. The other members of RCT3 noticed the madness too. Itami helped Kurokawa get Kurata inside the light truck.

Kurokawa was kneeling near him, tending to his wound with Kuribayashi. "Hold on, Takeo! You will be just fine." were the team's combat medic encouragement for the young sergeant.

Itami: "Dammit! We pull back! Erwin, give us some cover fire! Somebody get on the radio and inform command!"

Meanwhile, _Hussar Three_ fired a 120mm HE shell. It exploded just near the foremost Imperial soldiers, the shockwave reducing the nearest one to nothing more than body parts scattered around, shrapnel hitting and wounding others. The Leopard 2 reversed slowly and fired short machinegun bursts.

Tomita asked Itami: "What about the Humvee, sir?"

As he threw inside the light truck two maps and an ammo box, Itami answered: "No time to tend to it."

Erwin: "Scheisse! We have a very large unit in the distance! May count by the thousands!"

Itami: "Retreat! Erwin, fire two shells in the Humvee, we can't afford to let it fall into enemy hands!" he ordered. As the light truck and the LAV turned to west with increasing speed, Erwin's tank following close behind after it turned the Humvee to a burning wreck, Itami got in touch with command. "Yes, we made contact with a large enemy force! […] We have a wounded, arrow in the leg. We are also up against what I believe to be battle mages of the Empire!"

Dietrich's voice came in on the same channel on which Itami was reporting to his superiors. Dietrich asked: "Lieutenant, what did you see?"

Itami: "According to Erwin there are several thousand soldiers approaching. They have battle mages too."

Dietrich frowned on the other end of the line: "Are you sure there were mages?"

Erwin: "A fireball does not appear out of the blue, sir!"

Dietrich: "This is bad. Be very careful, we had a tank immobilized by a mage and an APC had all its electronics fried by another one. Won't even start telling what happened to some unfortunate infantrymen of ours."

Itami: "Is it that bad?"

Dietrich: "Yes, it is that bad. Agh! Not everyone can wield magic, more so not magic capable of destruction like this. If there are battle mages over there, then there surely must be another enemy army nearby. If I was a higher up in the Empire's military I would use them to support my armies."

Itami: "If there are more then we're in trouble. I abandoned the Humvee and destroyed it."

Dietrich: "RCT3, report your exact position." After receiving their location, Dietrich issued his orders: "I see. You will fight a delay battle against the advancing troops, Lt Itami. I see there is a hill just to your west and it seems to be the highest point for a good distance. Hold that hill. I am immediately directing all the reserves to head down your way and deal with the threat to our flank. There surely must be more than a few thousand enemy troops. There must be an entire legion the least."

Itami studied the map and, to the German general's frustration, noted: "There is a village on that hill! We can't turn the village into a battlefield. There could be collateral damage."

Dietrich: "If you want a good defensive position, the hill is your best shot right now. I doubt the enemy scouts haven't reported it to their commanders who might be trying to secure the same position for better view of the surrounding terrain. I trust you, Lt Itami. You never fail in protecting innocent, do you?"

Itami was annoyed by this. "Heard about you and your Prussian honor, General. RCT3 will carry the order." and _'hang up'_. "Take us to that hill, we must figure something out not to get the fighting too close to the villagers."

Pops: "Is magic that powerful when used in combat?"

Kuribayashi: "It would seem so, according to the new general."

Erwin: "I could use the same tactic like at Italica and run them over, run circles and fire the guns."

Itami: "We can't take that risk. They seem to be able to incapacitate armored vehicles with a bit of luck."

Pops: "I think that is the hill Gen Dietrich mentioned. I must say, on this generally flat area it is quite the good spot."

Itami brought his binoculars up to scan the horizon. "And there really is a damn village on the top of that hill."

Jackson: "It ain't the same village where we found that Hiroki fella, is it?"

Itami: "No, that one is much further to the west. Mari, how is Takeo doing?"

Kurokawa, with her bloodied hands, said: "He will be just fine. The arrow missed his bone which is good. But it did some nasty damage to the flesh. He must be evacuated immediately to a field hospital."

Kurata voiced his gratitude with pain in his words: "Thank you… Mari-san."

Kurokawa: "Just stay still, don't move your leg. The arrow is still there."

Itami picked the radio again: "This is RCT3 actual, we need a MEDEVAC asap. Injured with an arrow to the leg. Location:…" the lieutenant proceeded to send the location where the helicopter should arrive. After a short while they reached the hilltop.

 _Hussar Three_ took a defensive position on the northeastern side of the hill, overlooking the terrain. There were enough trees to the north and east to provide decent cover for anyone to sneak up to 300 meters from them.

* * *

 **A VILLAGER FEMALE TEENAGER'S POV**

It was afternoon when I was sitting under the tree, shying away from the heat of the Sun. Everybody took refuge from afternoon hot air. Nobody was working the field, nobody was hunting, nobody was crafting. Everybody was resting.

I thought that it will be one of those regular days when nothing happens. What could happen in this decent corner of the Empire? We tend to our business and live peaceful. There haven't been any beasts for a long time in these parts. No more mountain trolls descending upon the locals, no more necrophags lurking about in the swamps or forests. Been too long since there was a battle for them to make an appearance again and consume the dead. It is such a beautiful world… so brutal too.

Not that I am too old to know too much. But for a girl my age I should be starting a family with a husband, not wonder about too many things and kill time. I thought this was going to be just another regular day. But it wasn't to be.

It was first a distant rumbling in the silence only broken by the breeze. And then it grew louder and louder. I had to see what it was so I got off my lazy ass and walked past the last house. And then I saw them – the three horseless carts halted with the larger one facing towards the mountains. There were people around the green carts, all in green clothing unlike I've ever seen. They had what I guess it was helmets too.

One of them was lying down on his back with blood stained bandages around what I guessed to be a wound on his leg. A woman was attending to him. At first they seemed not to notice me, each of them was going about his or her business. One of them was talking alone to some strange box. Since several of the other people in green were around him, listening, I guess he would be the leader of the group.

I just stood there, watching them until a young woman just a little shorter than me approached me. She was wearing the same clothing as the others with a steel contraption in her hand.

To my surprise, she spoke our language with a heavy foreign accent. "Hi! You might want to go inside and tell everybody to stay in their house. The surrounding area will soon be a battlefield." she said with a straight face.

"What..? What do you mean a battlefield? Will two armies fight here?" I asked her, concerned for my family and the rest of the village.

"The Empire's army will be here soon and will attack us. We have orders to defend this hill, it is very important to us. Then our friends will be here and a full out battle will erupt. It might be best for you to stay inside for today."

"What army do you belong to?" I asked her very curious.

"JSDF."

"Jay es dee ef?"

"Return to your house, girl. It will be dangerous outside."

"You call me a girl… how old are you? You seem younger than me." I counterattacked.

But she was a bit annoyed by my question. "Definitely older than you. Listen to a soldier and go inside."

I wasn't gonna go inside, I just rested at the shadow of the nearest house and kept watching them. Some of their men started digging several holes, large enough to fit two or three men inside. The two women were unpacking boxes from their carts. That little one is much stronger than I thought. This kept on for a short while until their friends arrived.

If I hadn't seen them with my eyes… I would not have believed it was possible for humans to fly. They came riding in large steel creatures, green in color. It was as if the spirits of the wind helped them fly and they kicked the dust everywhere around. Other villagers came out when they heard the loud noise they were making.

Other men in green descended from the flying steel beasts and one even landed to take the wounded one. After that, they left as quick as they arrived. I couldn't understand their language at all… The newly arrived spoke to the leader of the first arrived. Most of them got to digging too and the rest were unpacking their belongings. They set up three weird black tubes on the ground with small crates near them.

Some of my fellow villagers came forward to talk to their leader and they got the same answer as me – "Stay inside, there might be a battle here."

Many protested to this but their leader said it could not be helped. He even promised compensation for any damage inflicted to our houses and belongings. It wasn't too long until the largest of their carts slowly backed away with a metallic noise as it did so. From atop of it a man poked his head out and shouted something, gesturing with his hand. They were speaking in their foreign language.

"Lt Itami! We have hostiles! Seven kilometers! They are advancing at the cover of trees! At least a thousand in numbers!"

"How are the trenches and foxholes looking?"

"We're almost done here!"

"Kuribayashi, how is the air support and artillery looking?"

"Artillery is focused with supporting the troops in the mountains. We have the F-4s to rely on. A-10s are burning down the mountains."

"Should be enough."

"INCOMING!" one of them shouted. A large boulder fell in front of them, missed by a significant margin. Their largest cart then turned on the spot to reveal what looked like a black iron cross painted on it with a winged animal on its black, green and brown coloring.

I don't know what kind of cart that is, I would guess it was made for war only. Its upper half turned to the right and roared a thunder, earth shook beneath it and my ears hurt a bit. Not long after, a distant thunder echoed through the air. Then the same man sticking out of the top of it shouted something in their language.

The same girl noticed me standing outside, watching them. "Get inside already if you don't want to get hurt!". She didn't need to say again. The rest of the day was one of discontent, uneasiness… The earth shook beneath us, the cries of the wounded and blades crossing was terrible.

 **END OF POV**

* * *

"Catapult is taken care of!" Erwin reported. _Hussar Three_ assumed another position on the left side of the defenses hastily set up by RCT3 and the newly arrived 40 soldiers of the JSDF. They were making ready to hold the hill.

Kurokawa who was crouched near Itami in the foxhole large and deep enough to provide more than decent cover was more worried about the civilians. "Wasn't it better if we had them evacuated with the helicopters?" she asked.

Itami was keeping his binoculars on his eyes, scouting for enemy troops. "I doubt they would have abandoned their village like that."

"Does this village have a name?" the combat medic asked again.

"Collis is what they call their village. It sounds awfully Latin to me."

"I hope we can keep the fighting away from them…"

"Don't worry, Kurokawa. We will do our best. I just wonder who we will be facing. Who is the enemy commander? They seem to adapt very quick and use just hit and run… bastards even got Kurata out of action. But here we have the advantage. If they want to dislodge us from our positions, they will need to close in." Itami said frustrated.

Kurokawa looked at the 33 year old lieutenant, dirt all over his gear. "You are changing, lieutenant."

"Hm? How so?"

"You are taking your job as an officer more seriously. You seem a rather harder person than when I met you."

Itami let his binoculars down and turned his eyes to Kurokawa. "Mari-san…" he spoke softly, "I just want to bring everybody back home. And I would never refuse free time to nurture my hobbies… even now I would just sit down and read a good novel or manga but I want to make sure everything is ok. Damn that Dietrich…"

Kurokawa: "He just does what he thinks is best for the Allied forces."

Kuribayashi came by with an ammo box. "How many?" she asked her two comrades.

"How many what?" Itami asked, looking at her.

Kuribayashi put on an annoyed face. Kurokawa cut in. "Four mags will do for me." And Kuribayashi handed her four magazines from the box for her Howa Type 64 rifle. Itami checked to see how many mags he has before asking for two from Kuribayashi.

"Kuribayashi, don't snap and get yourself injured or killed. Stay calm and stay in cover." Itami told her. She just nodded and moved to the next foxhole.

* * *

 **Special Region, Collis Village – RCT3 location**

 _Same moment as when the Italians were attacked_

As they were laying in cover, waiting for the enemy to make an appearance, they heard the sound of jet engines soar through the sky. A formation of three F-4 Phantoms flew overhead and made radio contact.

"Phantom Lead to RCT3 Actual, come in."

Itami reached for his shoulder mounted radio. "RCT3 Actual here."

"Good to hear you, lieutenant. Phantom Lead, Two and Three are here to provide air support. How is your situation?"

"Ah, excluding the fact that the Sun is shining in its full glory and the heat is accordingly up, we are doing well. We've set up a defensive line of foxholes on the northern and eastern slope of the hill. Make sure to watch out for friendly fire."

"Roger that, RCT3 Actual. We will be up here if you need us."

The Leopard 2 suddenly turned its turret to positive 45 degrees and Erwin got his binoculars out. Itami's attention was caught by the sudden movement and asked: "What do you see, _Hussar Three_?"

"The ones we initially spotted, seven kilometers away are closing in. We got them on thermal at two clicks away!" Erwin informed.

"We've got eyes on them too." the commanding officer of the 40 strong unit said on radio.

"This is RCT3 Actual to Phantom Lead, come in Phantom Lead."

"Go ahead, we hear you."

"We have hostiles, estimate large number, moving under the cover of trees. _Hussar Three_ will designate the target area with a smoke shell. Can you help us afterwards?"

"Sure thing. Paint the target and we rain hell on them."

Franz, Erwin's gunner, fired the gun and sent their only smoke shell downrange. A smoke cloud appeared between the trees. One of the planes broke formation and went for an attack run. It dropped bombs who shook the earth and cut down many trees. Whatever or whover was in the vicinity of those bombs was no more. The Phantom then went ahead to strafe the area with the cannon.

"Phantom Tree to Phantom Lead, I've expended all my ammo."

"Phantom Lead to Phantom Three, you can RTB to rearm."

"Copy that, returning to base. Good luck, guys!"

Itami raised the binoculars to eye level. He made an annoyed sound. "They keep advancing."

Kurokawa was now sitting down, leaning with her back on the dirt wall of the foxhole, rifle resting with the stock on the dirt and barrel on her right shoulder. "Maybe they really want this hill. It is a good vantage point and, for a civilization who doesn't rely on technology as much as we do, it is their best hope to spot everything up to far away."

"Why are you always right?" Itami asked.

"Who said I am?"

"You always were."

"While we are here doing our job as soldiers… I wonder how Tuka, Lelei and Rory are doing right now."

"They are doing fine, at Alnus most likely. The refugees are thinking of setting up an inn and the JSDF is already building a PX store. The other countries will build shops too. I can already see the British bringing tons of tea, hehe!" to which Kurokawa giggled. "They'll have their hands full of work while we're on the front."

Her eyes shifted to the sky who was now slowly being covered by a grey cloud. The cloud wasn't that tall though. It looked like it was coming down on them. "Ehm… what is that?" she asked with her eyes up.

Itami turned around to see what she is referring to. He shifted his gaze upwards and saw the grey cloud descending on the hill. "What is that?" he, too, asked. The cloud descended upon them and the entire hill was engulfed in it. It was the same as the magic used by the mages in their attacks on the troops in the mountains – a mist to conceal their movements or blind the enemy.

"Phantom Lead to RCT3 Actual, come in!" the pilot's voice came on radio.

"What is it, Phantom Lead?" Itami asked.

"I'm positive you have hostiles inbound, charging you at this very moment. They are emerging from the trees and are headed directly to the strange …cloud or whatever that is, smoke screen… We are breaking to engage the enemy infantry."

"Shit! My tank is blind! This mist doesn't allow me to see through it with anything!" reported Erwin on radio.

"Dammit! Do we have any marksmen, snipers? We could use some eyes on the tallest structure in the village."

"Negative! Me and my boys brought only machineguns and mortars." the leader of the other 40 said.

"Everybody, make ready!" Itami said as he aimed down the sight of his rifle. The best they could see was at 50 meters or so. Then, several explosion close shook the earth and kicked a lot of dust in the air.

"This is Phantom Two. I dropped some ordnance on them but they are scattered. They are not attacking in formation or anything like it. They look just like an angry mob, charging in disarray."

"They learned from Alnus! One smart man does not simply make the same mistake twice." said Pops, very annoyed.

"Should we not man the mortars?" asked a private.

"No, we are blind. Better stay in cover." another one said.

"Phantom Lead here, you might want to cover your ears. We will perform a low pass, maybe that will help disperse this mist."

Two other heavy explosions followed. Then the two jets made a low pass, something that requires skill, patience and courage. And to their merit, the mist cloud began to dissipate in front of the defenders, the jets' low pass making the air move like a strong wind.

"Contacts! Hundred meters! Dead ahead!"

"Open fire!"

The entire defensive line erupted in a hail of bullets. Many legionnaires of the Empire fell like many of their compatriots at Alnus – killed by bullets. Six defenders broke into a sprint to the mortars to put them to good use. The tank was pumping out as many shells and bullets it could. Katsumoto was manning the .50 cal on the LAV. There were many attackers, maybe in the hundreds. They were getting dangerously close.

Then the pilot's voice came again on the radio: "Be advised, enemy cavalry maneuvering on your right flank! They will hit you from behind! I'll go for a strafe run."

True to his words, he brought his F-4 in a shallow dive. The 20mm cannon came to life and rained death on the advancing cavalry. And so, death welcomed some of the horsemen when their torn apart bodies fell to the ground with their mutilated horses.

Itami on radio: " _Hussar Three_ , cover our right flank!"

Erwin: "Understood. Bauer, bring the feline around and let's hunt."

The tank moved from its spot and maneuvered to reach the other flank. Erwin was now sticking his upper body through the commander's hatch. They took the detour through the village. The locals were startled by his tank's sudden appearance in the village center. They were already scared by the ongoing battle. They thought the gods themselves were brawling when the bombs dropped by the F-4s exploded several hundred meters away.

Erwin took note of his surroundings. He felt the pairs of frightened and curious eyes watch him from window corners. His tank took a left turn and broke down a wooden fence. He then came face to face with the cavalry unit.

Erwin: "Fire whatever we have loaded! Then load a canister round!"

Franz pulled the trigger and an HE shell shit in the rearmost of the cavalry formation. They sent arrows towards the tank but to no avail. It was the same mounted archer unit they met earlier during the day. Hussar Three reloaded and fired again. Then… darkness. The riders who were leading the charge were totally annihilated by the canister round. A third of them was probably taken out by one well placed shot with the right ammunition. The others broke off and maneuvered on either side of the tank and got in the village.

Franz was about to fire another canister round but his commander made sure he would do no such thing. "Do not fire in the direction of the houses! Not the cannon, not the machinegun! We can't afford killing any civilians by accident."

"Leutnant, they will reach our defenses and there will be a bloodbath!" Franz said. His twin brother Fritz added: "It already is a bloodbath. But for them."

Erwin reached Itami through the radio: "They slipped past us. We're already on their six. They have like 30 riders left."

Itami: "Dammit! We are being flooded here by infantry! It won't be long until we get into close quarters."

Erwin addressed to his driver: "Bauer! Run them bastards over!"

Bauer: "Jawohl, herr leutnant! But I really don't want to see the same things like at Italica when we charged into that bandit formation. I don't know for how long I can keep doing this."

Erwin: "Just close your eyes when you are about to hit them. Our friends' lives depend on us!"

The tank picked up speed and caught up with the riders. The first one Bauer went for noticed what was about to happen and went for an evasive maneuver, but Franz brought the turret around and hit him in the head with the 120mm cannon. The blow broke his skull and killed him. The tank kept running over the riders and kicking them down with the cannon on the village streets. But it was too slow of a method.

"Behind you, guys!" Erwin said when he cleared the last building into a more open area and started firing the machinegun. RCT3 members turned their heads and, to their horror, acknowledged that they have hostiles on their rear AND front. A hail of arrows flew towards the dug in soldiers.

Itami grabbed Kurokawa by her vest and pulled her down into the foxhole. A fraction of a second later, an arrow struck the pile of dirt where her torso would have been. The archers maneuvered around the defenders and tried to shoot arrows. But they were picked one by one and littered the ground. Their attack bought enough time for the advancing infantry to reach their position.

In their hole, Sgt Jackson and Pvt Lewis were stabbing an Imperial soldier to death. Kuribayashi dodged a footman's boot who wanted to stomp her in the face, only to feel her bayonet in his lower leg. The man staggered and was put down by two bullets in his back. Erwin brought the tank around and positioned himself between the oncoming infantry and RCT3.

Itami shouted in anger: "How long until those reinforcements are here!?"

His question was left unanswered. Dietrich said that he will be sending the reserves north to deal with Titus and his legion. He didn't give them an ETA. Just the order to hold the hill.

"Fuck this hill, we can take it back from the Empire! Why the hell are we ordered to defend this position?" asked an angry Nishina while firing his rifle at the nearest Imperial.

"Who knows why the man wants this position? We are supposed to hold it." Tomita said.

"I swear this is his damn ego! Heard some British soldiers talking back at Italica that he doesn't like to lose. Bet he wants to deny the enemy commander this vantage point even if we can recapture it with little difficulty later on." barked Nishina again.

More and more Imperials fell dead and their numbers were diminishing. What looked like a promising attack now turned into chaos with many running for their lives. Many of the retreating soldiers were simply shot in the back. Those who wanted to stay and fight inflicted a few injuries before being killed by the defenders.

Itami sat down after the fight. He looked at Kurokawa. "Are you ok?"

"Yes, I'm fine, sir." she said breathing harder after all the adrenaline rush and effort.

Itami then asked on radio: "Everybody alright? Any casualties?"

"RCT3 has no injured or dead."

"I have two with minor wounds, medic is tending to them right now."

Then, Dietrich's voice came in: "Lt Itami, come in."

Itami: "Itami here…"

Dietrich: "What is your situation?"

Itami: "Not the best. The villagers are scared big time… we fended off an attack. Two injured, too hot outside… The enemy is using magic… uhm, that would be it."

Dietrich: "Reinforcements are 15 km south of your position. As soon as they arrive you are to pull back. Get some rest, a shower, food, all the nice stuff. We'll clear out the area of the Imperial Army. To your west we have engaged another enemy force, one of our faster units arrived way earlier than expected."

Itami: "What next?"

Dietich: "After your little break you'll join the fighting again. We need every man and woman we have to fight right now. Air support will arrive there in two minutes in the form of Cobra attack helicopters. Shall the enemy attack again, you will have some extra firepower. Hold on until reinforcements arrive, after that you can pull back to a small camp 20 km south. Dietrich out."

Itami: "Just great…"

* * *

 **Duma Mountains, with the Italian soldiers**

 _D-Day + 44 days, after fending off the enemy attack_

Major Dante checked the last Imperial soldier for life signs. He was dead. The small clearing in the woods, from the ridgeline up to their feet, was littered with dead men. They had casualties of their own, two dead and enough injured. He couldn't evacuate the wounded by air because the slope was too unfavorable for landing and they were surrounded on all sides. All they could do was to hold their position and follow the orders. Dante knew that if they pulled back to rejoin their Japanese friends would only mean to lose the advance they made into enemy territory, only to fight for it again.

The Japanese troops were far from being of any help to him and his men. He could hear the distant explosions made by the larger bombs. They have been fighting for half a day. _'Just what the hell is the Empire throwing at them to keep 'em at bay like this?'_ he asked himself.

He had a good look around. After stabilizing his breathing, he issued orders. "Alright, soldiers! Move the wounded there. The dead there. Cover them with something… I want every sniper to take up position in a tree, give us an early warning if they spot the enemy. Set up a second line of defenses here. The first line of defenses will be on that ridge. Get to digging your foxholes, men! Move it!"

Dante walked to the bodies of the two fallen soldiers. He read their names on the dogtags. _'I'm sorry, compadres… Rest in peace. If we can't get you out of here we'll bury you here.'_

* * *

 **AN:** So, this chapter would have probably reached 10,000 words with ease. But I decided to cut it shorter and be able to progress faster with the story. The next chapter will focus on the Italian soldiers. As always, please leave your thoughts in the review section, always appreciated. And regarding the AoT/SnK x GATE crossover – it will be most likely with Earth sending troops to the titan world after the small titans come through the gate. It will be rated M for mature, bloody depictions and who knows what pervert things will cross my mind. No explicit sex on this story because it is rated T. Thanks for reading and leave your thoughts in reviews or PMs, how you see fit!

 **SPOILER:** Shit will go down again with Alistair and Alia very soon, in ways you don't expect.


	24. Ch 24 - Sons of Rome

**Tundra Fox:** The Empire is recruiting around the clock and sending even poorly trained young men to war. They also sent most of their battle mages so there will be a fair amount of them. About the interrogation, I shall see how I do it because I was thinking about something similar. Oh, Alistair might make an appearance this chapter or the next one. Probably the next one. I am still unsure, I wanted to dedicate this chapter to the Italians.

 **Kamzil:** Thank you :D I hope you will keep reading the next chapters too.

 **Urza:** I will not give a number, I will just leave it to the unknown. I will just say that there are many mages, the Empire being desperate and is throwing almost everything here. I will try not to overdo it either, keep it at a moderate amount but there will be a last moment struggle.

 **BrokenLifeCycle:** It can't keep up but it will try :p

 **Kevinkocher:** Yes, the JSDF will be conducting such operations to take out every resistance pocket put up by the Empire. I will refer as HE in general because I have went with it from the start. Hope you guys don't mind it.

 **MODERN ARMED FORCES:** Aye! That I do.

 **Newbie:** We already have sniper teams. And I don't think the military would go over the ruckus of bringing flamethrowers back into service for a short time.

 **Mailbawx:** Who said I'm ending it there? I still have like several arcs to go over. At least …I have like at least three major plot twists to do before I can think of an ending and an epilogue.

 **Ferduran:** I will make a POV chapter but I do not promise it will be for a mage. I had one thought out. But I'm barely a quarter into this chapter and there is plenty o' room for change.

 **Carlos Olivera:** Noted! :D

 **Natcraw:** They are movies I enjoyed the most, since childhood up to today.

* * *

 **Chapter 24: Sons of Rome**

* * *

 **Duma Mountains, Italian positions**

 _D-Day + 44 days, evening_

The Italian Alpine troops have set up two defensive lines as ordered by Major Dante. The evening sky was covered by clouds for most of it. The Sun already went down over the horizon and there was little natural light. They had turned on their NVGs.

The soldiers were resting or were on guard duty. The first line of foxholes was manned by 50 soldiers at the moment, the rest being mostly behind the second line, resting. The bodies of the dead Imperial soldiers were still there, unmoved. Nobody bothered to move them out of the way and Dante didn't bother his men with extra work when they were tired and were expecting another enemy attack.

This time they had the support of long range artillery from the JSDF's 155mm SPGs and A-10 Warthogs, should the enemy charge them again. Snipers were positioned in trees or in other key positions, ready to put down the enemy from afar and give an early warning. It was a pain they didn't have any motion sensors to deploy.

Major Dante was moving from foxhole to foxhole, checking on his men and encouraging them. He came upon a foxhole with three young lads laughing and relaxing more than he would be comfortable with. He dropped among them, the latter being startled by the major's sudden appearance. They immediately stood at attention and saluted.

Major Dante took note of every single one of them. "Rank and names, soldiers!"

"Private Andrei Morun, sir!" the smallest of the three said with pride in his voice. He looked not older than 25 and had dark hair. Neither of the three were older than 25.

"Corporal Armand Morun!" the average height guy said. He had similar facial feature like Andrei and the same hair color.

"Are you two brothers?" asked Dante.

"Yes, sir! Born and raised in Italy after our parents moved in 1990 from Romania. Proudly serving within the armed forces of Italy for three years now." Armand replied, feeling like it is his responsibility as the bigger brother to answer. He was fully aware of the antipathy many Italians showed to the Romanian people in the last decade and he hoped the major was not some close minded person like so many he met before.

"And who are you, young man?" the major asked the last one.

"Private Felix Teodoroiu, sir!" the last one of them said.

The major smiled this time. "You all three Romanian ethnics? How did you end up in the same unit?"

"Luck and coordination, sir." Felix said.

"Pvt Felix, you're aware you are bearing the name of one of your national heroines if I remember well, don't you?"

"Yes, sir. Ecaterina Teodoroiu, died at the young age of 23 during the Battle of Mărășești in 1917, bravely leading her platoon in an attack, shot in the chest by a German machinegun. Her dying words were _'Forward men, don't give up, I'm still with you!'_. But we are not relatives. More of a name coincidence, sir." the young Romanian ethnic soldier said.

Armand: "Sir, how comes you know about her?"

Dante: "I have read plenty of military history. Alright boys, keep your volume lower and vigilance higher. Be brave and be on the guard in this forest."

Andrei: "Don't worry, Major! _'From Dacia's and Rome's thigh lions will always be born.'_ "

Dante: "What is that?"

Andrei: "A verse from a Romanian march, sir. Made popular during World War II. It is about the generations of brave soldiers who bravely fought against every army sent against them. About the people who defended Europe and Christendom for hundreds of years from the Ottoman ambitions of conquering the continent. And about those who fell for the unified principalities who now are our country of origin."

Dante: "Keep it up, soldiers!" he said before moving to the next foxhole. _'Morale is high. Especially with these fellas.'_

* * *

 **Duma Mountains, Italian positions**

 _D-Day + 45 days, 0200 hours_

Dante almost fell asleep when a gunshot broke the silence. He immediately woke up and reached for his shoulder mounted radio. "Major Dante here. Report!" he said.

"Vigilante Four here, reporting. We have hostiles moving in for what I believe a night attack. Took down what I guessed to be one of their mages. My position is not compromised. Requesting further instructions."

"Keep an eye on them and report their moves." ordered Dante.

"Vigilante Two reporting. I have eyes on an estimate of 100 Imperial troops marching east. And positive ID on an officer and at least two battle mages."

"Vigilante Three reporting. I have eyes on enemy troops. No line of fire. Can't tell the numbers, they are mostly hidden by vegetation."

"Dante here. Keep an eye on them. Eliminate high value targets if you get the chance. Vigilantes Five, Six and Seven, any contacts?"

"Vigilante Five here, negative in my sector."

"Vigilante Six reporting negative."

"Vigilante Seven reporting neg-… wait. I have contacts on thermal in the distance. Surely not local fauna. I can make silhouettes moving. Unknown number but they are many. They are headed west. Sir, we may be witnessing the buildup of an attack force on our positions."

"Hold on, Vigilantes. Designate your high value targets and make ready to engage. I will not stand by and wait for them to hit us. Relay the enemy positions to the SPGs and call an artillery barrage on them. Do it now and kill what looks like surviving officers and mages with the sniper rifle." Dante said.

"Copy that, major! Calling in the artillery."

Dante then tried to get in touch with the Warthogs. "This is Major Dante to any Warthog in air. Come in, Warthogs."

"Warthog Five is listening, major. Who's bothering you?" one A-10 pilot answered.

"We have enemy forces building up for an assault on our positions. Can you drop some ordnance on one or more of the locations which are being shelled by the artillery?" Dante asked.

"On it, major. I'll be flying above your sector and engage when the artillery hits. You are in a pretty forested area."

"Thanks, Warthog Five. Dante out."

The Italian soldier was smiling. _'Got your sorry asses. They seemed to be building up for an attack right in this sector. Well… better get the boys up and ready than have them wake up to some ugly surprises.'_ he though as he made his way beyond the second line of defenses. "Wake up! Come on, you sleeping beauties! Get to your positions! Move, move, move!"

And as quick as that, the entire 41st company was up and taking defensive positions. Several distant sniper shots meant that the enemy's officers and mages were slowly killed. The major radioed the officers in the other two companies and had them wake up their men in order to prepare for combat.

The soldiers in the foxholes were eagerly waiting the attack but all they had was fireworks down the slope on the other slope of the ridge they occupied. Light flashed through the trees or above their leaves and shockwaves could be seen, followed by the sound of explosions.

A few minutes of total silence followed after a three minute long barrage and some CAS from the Warthog. The infamous _'BRRRRTTT'_ of the 30mm was a mighty dragon's roar to the Imperials who escaped and inexistent for those hit by it since the projectile reaches you first, before the sound.

"Warthog Five to Major Dante, I've expended all my ammo. Returning to base."

"Copy that, Warthog Five. Thank you for the support." Dante replied. "Don't let your guard down! Some may have slipped past the barrage and our snipers! Be on the lookout!"

"This is Vigilante Five, I have eyes on a numerous enemy unit and they charging right at us! They will reach you in five minutes or so."

"Vigilante One reporting the very same."

"Sir, we are facing a general attack on our positions!"

"Warthog Five to Major Dante, your entire line is coming under attack and so the JSDF's forces six km behind you."

' _SHIT!'_ thought Dante. "Vigilantes, call in the artillery and direct mortar fire! Everybody get to your positions!"

* * *

 **AN IMPERIAL SOLDIER'S POV**

We were ordered to attack. No stopping, only going ahead. The first wave of attack came under attack from the enemy's ranged magic explosions. We walked over their bodies on our advance. Thank the gods it was dark and I didn't get to see on what I was stepping on. The cries of the wounded were almost from hell. Some of our healers will take them back to camp.

As we made it past the location of our dead comrades, we heard that whistling sound coming from the sky. Then all hell broke loose for good. Large explosions left and right. The officer shouted to keep advancing and so we did. Our mages were being killed one by one by a single enemy warrior sitting up in a tree. Our archers made good work of him before he could do more damage.

After we were clear of the tree line and started going uphill towards the enemy's location we were immediately attacked by them. Everywhere fellow comrades were falling dead to the ground. But we kept advancing, charging like mad men with the intent to kill to the last man those who wanted to invade and occupy us. Two of our mages created a flame wall and sent it towards the ridge line from where the enemy was firing at us. I thought it burned them all but they just continued firing upon us. We were less than twenty meters from them when I heard one of their soldiers shout in their language something which reinvigorated every man on the ridge line.

 **END OF POV**

* * *

"DI QUI NON SI PASSA!" shouted Major Dante. _("Nobody passes here!")_

"UUURAAAAH!" shouted the other Italians.

"FIX BAYONETS!"

At the order, every soldier who didn't have a bayonet on his gun, pulled it out and put it on the barrel. They knew better to expect a close quarter engagement. The flood of Imperial troops reached the first line of defenses. The Alpini (Alpini = Italian Alpine Troops, will refer to them in Italian) didn't shoot down many foes. The artillery and mortars were shelling the slope like there was no tomorrow but the fire was not concentrated enough.

The entire length of the territory occupied by the Italian soldiers was under attack. Tasius was throwing a lot of men into this battle. The JSDF's long range artillery was firing on multiple locations in order to support their allies. This didn't allow them to focus their barrage effectively.

Tasius also ordered continued attacks and harassment of the JSDF troops who were a few kilometers east of the Alpini, this didn't allow the Japanese to dislodge troops from any sector and send them as reinforcements. Attacks to fix the enemy on their current positions. They were deprived of helicopter support too, most of the Cobras and Hueys were dealing with Titus' forces on the northern flank.

The Imperial troops were fighting the professional Alpini in their foxholes. They were stabbing each other to the death. The bullet proof vests of Earth origin were impervious to sword or spear attacks. They did inflict pain though and bruises from the powerful blows. By now, the second line of foxholes was lighting up the Imperials with gun fire.

Dante dodged a sword attack to his head, ducked and then stabbed the swordsman in his manhood with the bayonet. The poor sod fell to the ground and didn't have to suffer any longer because a bullet in the head ended his life. The Italian officer then heard on radio:

"This is the 42nd, we are under heavy attack!"

"43rd is fending off an enemy attack right now too."

Dante then ordered: "Hold on, men! Di qui non si passa!"

On radio, the two voices almost shouted, probably shouting for their comrades around them: "Di qui non si passa!". The famous motto of the Alpini.

Along the entire line of defenses, soldiers of two opposing sides were shooting at each other with guns, bows and crossbows or trying to stab or slash with combat knives and swords.

From the second line, behind the position where Dante and his Alpini were fighting off the Empire's soldiers, several heavy machineguns made their appearance and opened fire. They immediately cut down every silhouette that came over the ridge. Two A-10s flew overhead and strafed the ground before letting loose two bombs which turned one of the slopes into a fiery inferno for a few seconds. Many legionnaires of the Empire burned to their death in that inferno if they were not obliterated by the power of the explosions.

"Fight! Fight for your lives if nothing else! You are the Alpini! There is no going back!" another Italian officer, probably a captain, encourages his soldiers who were squaring off with the enemy. They clashed in close quarters hand to hand combat. And soon, inevitably, bodies started to drop, Imperial and Italian alike.

The same captain ducked in a foxhole to reload his sidearm and catch his breath for a moment as he and his Alpini fended off a large enemy group. As he was reloading his gun, he heard the faint cries of a man to his left. He slowly turned his head around to see the face of a young soldier in the light of explosions and gunfire. He was holding his head between his arms and was sitting on his ass on the ground, rifle dropped by his side.

The captain felt rage flood him and immediately grabbed the soldier by his vest. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, SOLDIER!?" he snapped at him.

The boy couldn't help but cry and sob. "I… I…"

"You what!? Are you crying?"

"I'm sorry, sir…" he said as was wiping the tears off his face.

The captain noticed his insignia before speaking again with the same anger in his voice. "Get this fucking sergeant out of my sight! Get out of here, boy! Go cower somewhere you won't be a fucking nuisance to the rest of us! OUT!"

"What..?"

"GO AND GROW A PAIR!" he shouted and threw the sergeant out of the foxhole in the direction of the second line. The soldier retreated to the second line with shame. "How on Earth did he get to join the Alpini!?" the captain asked. Those under his command were now reloading with lightning speed and shooting in every direction.

One medic was dragging a wounded soldier on the ground towards the rear to get him to safety before an arrow hit him in the jaw, dropping him to the ground with a severe injury to his face.

Meanwhile, in a large foxhole were the three Romanian ethnic friends fighting for their lives. Grenades were flying around, killing Imperials with their explosions. Tracers were flying towards the ridge line and into the air when they were ricocheting off rocks in the ground.

"Grenade out!" said Felix as he threw a frag grenade into a nearby foxhole overrun by the enemy, its original occupants having pulled back behind a few rocks. The grenade blew up and killed two archers who were now occupying it and a swordsman. Their bodies were a bloody mess after the detonation.

"Get some, you bastards!" taunted Armand while raining lead with his M4. His younger brother, Andrei, was covering their flank. These three were doing their best to hold their position in the face of a large enemy force who just keeps coming. It is as if there is no end to their numbers. The mortars shifted their fire closer to their own lines.

Nobody could count the dead in the chaos of the night battle. When the first line looked like it would collapse, with Imperial soldiers already past it and rushing the second line, the officer who was leading the second line noticed something. There were no more enemies coming over the ridge line. No mire dark silhouettes crossing it. That was when he knew that it was the time to push them back. A flight of A-10s returned and dropped incendiary bombs to create a fire wall and deny the enemy a path to initiate other attacks.

"Alpini! What do we say!?" the officer asked as loud as his lungs were capable.

"Nobody passes here!" the soldiers shouted in unison.

"Damn right! Fix bayonets! Prepare to charge!"

Those around the officer looked at him with questioning eyes. Others were keeping their sights on their targets and shooting. And some obeyed the order and fixed their bayonets. The officer looked around to see the questioning looks on their faces.

"You are trained for close quarters. You are trained to fight any enemy in any kind of combat! I repeat! FIX BAYONETS!" and this time everybody followed his order. "Push the enemy over the ridge! Don't be afraid! Sons of Rome, CHARGE!"

And with a war cry, almost a hundred souls jumped out of their positions and charged the Imperial soldiers. They advanced, guns blazing. They met the enemy face to face and fought bravely until the last soldier of the Empire was driven over the other side or was dead.

* * *

 **Duma Mountains, Italian positions**

 _D-Day + 45 days, 0600 hours_

The summer Sun was making its way through mountain peaks and announcing a new day of fighting for the two sides. The morning Sun also shed light on blood stained battlefield of the last night. The grass was red from blood and bodies littered the ground everywhere. Craters, foxholes and burnt grass and trees still smoking.

Major Dante was slowly walking among his fallen comrades and dead Imperials. He was holding his rifle in his left hand and rubbing his eyes with his right one. Eventually, he stopped moving and reached for his radio.

"Come on guys, let's start looking for our fallen comrades. Gather every dead Alpini in the small flat land clearing behind our current positions and give them proper burial."

Half of the remaining troops were standing by, watching out for another enemy attack while the other half was busy looking for the bodies of the soldiers and transporting them where they would be buried. After two hours of search, they gathered everyone in a clearing behind their positions.

"50 dead… 50…" Dante said.

"We may actually have 51." one of his captains stated.

Dante turned with his upper body only. "What?"

"Vigilante Five is missing. He didn't report back and didn't answer on radio. He is MIA right now, missing in action."

Dante: "Was he stationed in the sector where they hit the hardest?"

"Yes… He had taken position in a tree. And there is no living tree left. Only smoking dead ones. I had two of my men go and look for him. They found his sniper rifle, cracked and missing its stock. No body though…"

Dante: "Great… 50 dead and 1 MIA. How many injured?"

"21 suffered injuries which put them out of active service. The 63 who suffered minor wounds have been treated or are receiving medical attention as we speak, sir. They can return to fighting in less than a day. Some can do it even now but they need to see a medic on a regular basis to treat the wounds, change bandages…"

"I see… 72 dead or heavily wounded. 63 suffered minor wounds. That puts us to 135. Those who were injured will serve in the second line. Now let us get to digging graves." the major ordered his men. He joined them in digging 50 graves in an orderly fashion. It took them one more hour. They put the fallen ones into their graves and covered them with dirt. The graves were marked with the deceased's combat rifle, sticked in the ground with the muzzles and bayonet down and on the stock was their helmets and the dogtags. They also set up a large pole with the Italian flag dancing in the wind.

Those present stood at attention, saluted their fallen comrades and then broke the lines, returning to their positions. Dante and another officer were the only ones left. The major was walking among the rows of graves. He knelt in front of one grave.

"I knew this fella. He was in the unit for a few years now. He died holding his position, staying true to the motto." Dante said.

"Nobody passes here!..." stated his accompanying officer.

"Nobody passes here…" the major repeated.

"Major, we have news from command."

"Say it already."

"The Japanese forces have engaged the enemy army in the north. RCT3 and another squad managed to defend a vital high point and the armored forces caught up from Bravil. They have dealt with what seemed to be a unit of several thousand strong. The Leopards have been dispatched to deal with another enemy force and they might fight as we are speaking now. They are also conducting "Search & Destroy" operations."

"What? Have the enemy soldiers turned partisans?"

"It might seem so. The biggest problem is with those damn mages. They keep incapacitating our vehicles. One Type 74 tank was hit from above by a flame bolt and the engine sucked the fire in. Don't need me to say what happened to the tank next."

"So much for the tanks…"

"We still have the upper hand, sir."

"Yes, yes... Mages. So… wait a minute. If those pricks can do that to a tank, then imagine what they can do to infantry without any kind of armor as support, just artillery and aircraft. No wonder the JSDF is taking its time reaching us. And no wonder we didn't have to deal with many mages, just a few of them, say one or two per enemy large unit. They must be throwing them on the JSDF." said Dante.

"That makes sense, sir. On the other hand, the Canadian and German forces have been pushing hard on the northern flank and have breached what they assumed to be an enemy line of defense. They came across fortifications such as small …primitive wooden bunkers. They stacked logs on each other and built some trenches. We might have introduced them to a whole new kind of warfare."

"Not might. Definitely did. It intrigues me the fact that they have adapted so fast to our way of conducting military operations. But they know they can't win this so they want to make us bleed… One has to wonder who came up with these new tactics for the Empire's armies. And why are we dealing only with two or three armies? They surely must have more…" Dante kept thinking.

"Sir…" the officer wanted to speak but was cut short by the major.

"We are missing something here. The command, Dietrich is missing something. We are all missing something. I just have this feeling… Inform command that we think there might be another enemy army or more of them past the Dumas or even in the mountains themselves. Make a thorough search with the UAVs and see what we are dealing with. I highly doubt Dietrich didn't get this job done already… But all we got from command is that there are enemy forces in the mountains, number unknown."

"It is a heavily forested and difficult terrain, sir. For what we know they could be scattered and with magic communicate over distances and coordinate. Maybe telepathy?"

"Maybe. Most certainly. Either we are not taking enough risks or the enemy general, or generals, is a very smart man."

"Sir… that doesn't seem to relate that much to what you said moments ago."

"That's what you think, lieutenant. It might just relate. What news about the 1st Armored? They were supposed to be pushing on the Appia, what is keeping them so long?"

"They will be resume their advance today at 1000 hours. That means in less than 40 minutes. They will bring us some supplies and we can evacuate the wounded."

"Good. Get them to the evac point as soon as the 1st Armored reaches us. Any orders from Dietrich?"

"The same – hold your position. But it would make more sense to slowly keep advancing on the flanks of the road. We can't let this turn into a Teutoburg again, can we?"

"No, we can't. And we won't."

"There are more troops coming through the gate too. Word has it that South Korea will deploy their marines after they heard about one Korean citizen being rescued by RCT3 from the Petra mines. That will take a longer while but right now all we have is another batch of US and JSDF soldiers."

"One has to wonder why France isn't moving a finger in this situation. Their neighbors are sending troops, few but they are still sending troops nonetheless, and France keeps her arms crossed in a status quo-like situation."

"Might be because of the immigration, ISIS problems, ISIL in Libya…"

"Now I'm not the one into politics but Germany and UK have refugees too. We have refugee problems too, lieutenant. Interesting… Russia has the excuse of being busy with Syria and the USA is loosening her grip on Russia because they will get some juicy resources from the Special Region. China pushes things in the UN but nobody takes her seriously when it comes to the gate problem. Just those pesky observers thy have managed to put on us…"

The lieutenant was silent now. Major Dante kept talking about different things in such a short notice. And he resumed talking again.

"Enough rumbling of my mouth. Let's get back to our comrades, lieutenant. And have five soldiers stand guard here. I don't want anyone desecrating their graves."

"Yes, sir!"

* * *

 **Duma Mountains, Italian positions**

 _D-Day + 45 days, 1800 hours_

Everybody was back in alert. With no attacks during the day, the soldiers had time to rest. The 1st Armored caught up with the Italians and those with severe wounds had been sent to a field hospital.

There was also put up a team of 20 Alpini with the orders to find and destroy any enemy camp nearby from where attacks could be launched on the main force which was advancing on the Appia. Little did Dante know what his team will come back with something…terribly unexpected.

"Vigilante Four to Major Dante, I have eyes on our band of intrepid heroes returning to our positions. They seem to be in a big hurry, sir. And they have two prisoners with them."

Dante immediately picked up his radio. "Major Dante here, what is it they are running from?". After sending the message via his shoulder mounted personal radio, the major gestured to his men to get ready for action.

"We are being followed! We need help! Somebody call in artillery just behind us." a voice came.

"What are you running from, soldier?" Dante asked. Everybody else was making ready for another attack.

"From very angry Imperial troops, sir! And some big damn ugly armored monsters! We have kidnapped their general and another officer and they want them back. We could use some help!"

"Keep going, you will be here in no time. Get the mortars ready! And the damn SPGs!"

Left and right every, the Alpini was making ready. One in particular was calling for an artillery strike where they guessed the enemy's location. Soon, the platoon of 20 soldiers reached their comrades' positions. They had with them what looked like an officer and another man. They uncovered their faces who were covered by small bags. The officer was immediately taken back but Dante decided to talk to what his men said to be a general.

The man was old enough, he had black, gray and white hair. He also wore a much more ornate set of armor and a small red piece of fabric over his armor. He immediately gasped for air after Dante removed the bag over his head. This was General Tasius in person.

Dante spoke in the native language: "Now what do we have here…"

Tasius took note of his foe's battle dress. He's never seen any clothing and armor and weapons and gadgets like that. He knew he had to keep his mouth shut and not give information to the invaders of his world. "You damn bastards!"

Dante: "Very rude from someone of your rank. What is your name, general? You clearly are no regular officer, I can tell that. Give us a name, general."

Tasius: "You won't get anything from me."

Dante: "Don't make it harder than it should be. We can get this done quick and go home and be happy. Are you in command of the army in these mountains?"

The general did not speak. Dante sighed. "If you are, then I'd suggest you tell your men who might be charging this position to stand down. We don't want more of this bloodshed. We can work things out pretty nice if we get to speak, you know?"

Silence again from Tasius. Dante knew he had little to no time for this right now. He was clearly not cooperating. "Take him back, send him immediately to Bravil. I am sure Dietrich will want to talk to the man. How did you manage to capture a damn general?"

As he was being taken away, Tasius saw the bodies of his soldiers everywhere among the positions of the defenders. The soil was stained red by blood. There were bodies torn apart from explosions, some heads and limbs here and there, craters… He could only let his head down, feeling horrible for sending soldiers to die. For a few moments he thought that the enemy had no casualties. That was until he came across their small cemetery. From there, he was taken by an APC and sent to Bravil.

"We spotted another enemy buildup. Probably in preparation for another attack and this one was going to be on a larger scale with more men. The general came in riding, he was arguing with his officers, really upset of their failure of failing to destroy our unit and thought of them as incompetents unable to exploit certain tactical advantages. The second lieutenant gave the order to attack and capture him since he looked very important and so we did. Killed the horses and the guards and took these two with us. But they were too close to the concentration of enemy forces, they head us and broke into a crazy chase after us. Some damn mages even tried to land magic attacks on us."

"HERE THEY COME!" announced a machinegun operator.

Dante poked his head over the dirt in front of him. He saw an entire front of Imperial soldiers charging uphill their position. And among them were what he guessed to be armored trolls or ogres wielding heavy maces, capable of crushing any man with a blow.

"OPEN FIRE!"

Shells started to fall among the attackers and magic explosions between the ranks of the defenders. The Alpini threw hand grenades into the mass and cut down even more of them. But the armored ogres wore heavy thick armor which was proving effective at keeping the beast alive.

"FUCK! We won't hold out much!"

Dante: "Get the 42nd to flank the attacking force! NOW! And get us that God damn air support! I want the 43rd to reinforce our positions!"

"We will die!"

"Shut up and keep firing!"

Dante saw the fear in his subordinates' eyes. The fact that most of their bullets was not piercing through the ogre's heavy armor was demoralizing them even more in conjuncture with the large numbers. Bodies started to pile up again and the attackers were stepping over their comrades' bodies from the previous fight. The major encouraged his men as best he could.

Dante: "Aim for their heads! Or use grenade launchers to take them down! You will stand your ground, men! You are the sons of Rome! We will not tremble! NOBODY PASSES HERE!"

The others shouted in unison the motto of the Alpini and the scared ones found the courage to fight bitterly to the end if needs be. The heavy gunfire mowed down entire rows of legionnaires and several ogres but the inevitable happened once more – they came again in melee range when the first ogres and Imperials reached the foxholes on the ridge.

The fight was brutal. The ogres used their maces with brutality and killed several Italians before being put down. Every Italian soldier was now fighting more for his own life than for anything else. The intense artillery and mortar barrage slowed the enemy down and was gradually peeling their numbers.

But it was still not enough. Many of those who broke through kept advancing, probably chasing after their captured general. Dante was blazing away with his M4 when he was not busy delivering punches or stabbing the enemy.

"I said… NOBODY… PASSES… HERE!" he shouted.

His war cry did not go unnoticed by one ogre who immediately rushed towards the major. A brave soldier put himself between his commander and the bloodthirsty beast. The ogre found him an annoying nuisance and swinged his huge mace at the small soldier. The man dodged the mace and sprinted towards the ogre and stabbed it in the exposed parts of the legs with his bayonet.

This did nothing more than annoy the beast who took a few steps back, looking to shake his target off and attack. But the little man managed to stay between his legs, in the beast's dead angle. Having had enough of this, the ogre turned again towards Dante who was oblivious to the threat, he was more busy shooting his rifle. The ogre broke again in a charge towards Dante.

' _Shit! I have to do something'_ Felix, the soldier who was the ogre's former enemy thought. He dropped his gun and sprinted towards his commanding officer. He reached Dante just in time to tackle him and put him down, thus dodging the ogre's mace. Dante looked up to see Felix's face filled with fear, anger and relief. Dante was stunned. Felix then got up and reached for his M1911 but as he was pulling his sidearm out, he was struck by the ogre's mace in the right chest side. The blow shattered every rib and organs and threw him flying several meters in the air before hitting a tree and dropping dead on the ground.

Dante couldn't move a finger. The ogre just killed the man who saved his life and now was preparing to deliver a downward strike which will crush Dante.

* * *

 **AN:** Well, a bit of a cliffhanger, ey? Decided to end the chapter here so I can have something to post :p please leave reviews with your thoughts and ideas and remarks – greatly appreciated. The next chapter will focus on the conclusion of this fight and a conclusion to the battle for the Duma Mountains  & a POV chapter for Tasius. That is all I can give you about the next chapter :p


	25. Ch 25 - She Is My Sin

**AN:** So, it has been a week since I last posted something. I will apologize, but I had little to no inspiration for what to write and rather than writing something stupid, I preferred to wait until I had the best ideas and here it is! Chapter 25! Sorry for grammar mistakes, not a lot of reading to fix small grammar issues but I hope you can forgive me for that.

 **The Tundra Fox:** I hope I will get that done right :p the diplomacy part is one of the arcs I have thought out for the story. And by thought out I mean major events, with the smaller details I come up as I write. There will still be the extra fantasy the anime and manga didn't give and the supernatural as regarding to the realistic approach. I will do my best to stay as close to reality and common sense but I might force something here and there and add fantasy and supernatural.

 **Kamzil118:** Indeed. I hope you really enjoyed the last part and that you will enjoy this one too :D

 **Ferduran:** the sniper was taken out when the Imperials got closer. He kind of had nowhere to run and decided to start shooting the mages and officers and risk his life.

 **Recordman:** 'Cause I forgot :'(

 **Newbie:** The 1st Armored was busy pushing along the road. The Italians were more to the south, securing the flank, as I said in the PM. War means casualties on either sides. My story will not be that kind of story where Earth just roflstomps everything and the Empire lacks any tactical and strategic thinking. I used the map of the Special Region from the GATE Wikia. It only made sense for the Empire to attempt to defend the Dumas.

 **Urza:** Will try not to keep you all waiting.

 **ATP:** You do have the right ideas.

 **It'sCalibra:** I imagined them just like a regular ogre, twice as tall than a man and with much more muscular mass which gives them their brute strength.

 **KriegSoldaten:** They already have and we will see them more in the future.

* * *

 **Chapter 25: She Is My Sin**

* * *

 _'Entry XII:_

 _So much more I wanted to give to the ones who love me. I'm sorry… Time will tell, this bitter farewell. I will live no more to shame nor you, nor me.'_

* * *

 **Duma Mountains, Italian positions**

 _D-Day + 45 days, 1900 hours_

The beast was about to smash the Italian major with its huge mace. The ogre was almost twice the human's size. Dante stood there knowing he had no escape and was accepting his death. _'Well… at least I've lived a good life up to this moment. I'm content with it.'_ He said as his entire life flashed before his eyes.

In the very last moment, the ogre just disappeared with a smoke trail where he initially was. Somebody fired a SMAW (yes, I chose the SMAW as the standard issue AT weapon for Japan's allies in the SR) at the monster, the warhead hitting it and flying a few meters more with the ogre staggering before exploding. Pieces of its armor went flying in the air with body parts. Others were taken down by rifle launched grenades and other AT infantry portable weapons (SMAW).

Dante blinked for a moment. Then rised up on its feet to take a look around. And he noticed his former opponent was no more. He thanked in his mind to whoever it was that fired the AT weapon and saved his life. He reached for his sidearm, the M1911 and started firing. The first line was compromised again, overrun by enemy infantry. The officer was then knocked out by a blow to his head from a legionnaire who did not bother to finish him off in his rush to rescue the Imperial general.

"Shift fire just in front of the second line!"

"That's danger close!"

"DO IT!"

And so, mortar rounds started to fall right between the first and second line. Ogres and humans alike were sent flying through the air by the explosions, their bodies missing a leg or an arms or simply shattered. The first line was a bloody mess once more with Imperials, Italians and beasts fighting each other, the latter being prioritized by AT infantry and heavy machinegun operators. The heavier 12,7mm rounds tore through their thicker armor with impunity and, with enough bullets hitting their target, bloody ogres were coming down to stain the soil a dark red with their blood too.

It was not long until the 42nd came on their right flank and opened fire on the advancing silhouettes. They cleared the right flank and started an encirclement maneuver to cut off their enemy. Slowly, the attackers who were coming from behind were shifting their attention to the 42nd Alpini Company, in the confusion and lack of efficient coordination by their officer due to the rushed charge they diverted from their objective and engaged the 42nd instead of proceeding on their initial course and reaching the positions of the 41st. Thus, no more forces of the Empire were condescending on the already thin lines of the 41st.

"Prepare for close quarters!" yelled an Italian lieutenant.

"Alpini! Give them no quarter!"

"NOBODY PASSES HERE!"

And every other living soul followed with the battle cry: "Nobody passes here!" and unleashed a rain of bullets on the charging Imperials and the few mages they had with them.

"Grenade out!" was the warning given by a private before his grenade detonated before touching down and killing a whole bunch of infantry and an armored beast whose head was blown off clean due to the proximity to the explosion.

"Use something heavier on those damn armored beasts!"

".50 cal coming right up!"

"Take them down, dammit! Take them down before they get close!"

"Where the hell are the AT troops!?"

"Right here!"

"Shoot!"

"Call in the Cobras!"

Meanwhile, where the Alpini were taking the grunt of the enemy attack, the 43rd arrived to reinforce the positions of the 41st. They immediately entered action and their vigorous response stopped the enemy attack at the second line. The barrels of the machineguns were hot as hell from the continuous fire with very short breaks. The mortars were silent for a minute, sign that they expended all their ordnance.

But that was not such a big issue because two AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters of the JSDF flew overhead and began unloading rockets and 20mm rounds into the ogres and legionnaires. The soil will be fertile for a long time where the 41st took defensive positions, so many dead and blood stained the soil that it provided nutrients with their decomposition for the not so reclusive animals and plants to take advantage of it.

With their reinforcements busy with fighting the 42nd and taking terrible casualties, with their morale declining fast and the piling up of bodies, the Imperials were slowly pushed back over the ridge line and hit harder in the flank until they retreated and ran for their lives, the flying monsters of the JSDF hot on their tails.

* * *

 **Special Region, 1** **st** **EAA HQ**

 _D-Day + 46 days, 0400 hours_

 **TASIUS' POV**

In a small tent, under heavy guard, I, General Tasius of the Empire, stood handcuffed with my hands to my back and forced onto a metal chair. I was not allowed to rest at all. Every time I was about to fall asleep one of the guards would wake me up with what they called a horn. Damn thing makes a terrible sound that would crack your ears. I haven't had any decent sleep in the last few days with all the fighting going on.

I took my time to study them. The two guards before me were in the same similar green clothing. Most certainly they use it to blend in with the surrounding flora. Similar to those who captured me… Those black things must be weapons. They look way more imposing than what I was expecting of them.

And I take it that that thing on their left arms is their flag. White and red stripes with stars in a blue corner. I have to wonder how our blades and bolts can't effectively pierce their armor, it looks a lot like clothing. Heh… they are a different people, what do I know?

With me captured, Caius is left in charge. I don't even think he knows since my mage was killed in that ambush and the rest were fighting the other enemy forces. Dammit, their numbers plummeted fast. I hope Titus is doing better than me. I couldn't think of a way of escaping my situation. My thought train was interrupted when a man came in. He was definitely someone important judging by his uniform. His eyes didn't see much sleep, just like me. He spoke to me in a foreign accent, he was decent in speaking the common tongue.

"Good morning. How are you?" he asked.

I looked up at him from my seat. I wanted to get up but my hands were cuffed behind the chair and my armor felt pretty heavy for my body, a body tired due to my age and deprivation of rest. "I've seen better days…"

"Of course you've seen better days, General. Maybe you're not used to being a prisoner and have heard what happens to prisoners in your world. I assure you that you will be treated well here, just like the other prisoners." he said.

"Pardon me if I do not take your word for it. So… what is your name…General?" I asked. His eyes went a bit wide.

"How did you know I am a general?"

"I recognize a commander when I see him. Your uniform was a dead giveaway. Definitely different than the common soldier. The rank… I guessed it."

"Brigadier General Karl Dietrich. I belong to the Bundeswehr, armed forces of Germany, and commanding officer of the 1st Earth Allied Army." he introduced himself. "Your name?"

"General Tasius Lucius of the Empire. Commander of the 7th Legion _Legacy of Godasen_." I introduced myself and my legion with pride in my voice.

"What kind of person are you, General?"

"The kind who wants to do what is right.". But what is the right thing to do?

"Then tell me, how many troops are there in the mountains?"

"And why would I give you that kind of information?"

"Because you want to do the right thing. Listen General Tasius, we captured you on the southern flank. And our aircraft noticed that your soldiers are in a state of disarray already. Many are retreating to the east, towards your capital. And then some stay back to fight but are no match without their leader to efficiently coordinate them. Obviously your officers are doing a terrible job."

What? My soldiers are retreating so soon? No, that can't be! We are the _Legacy of Godasen_ after all, for Gods' sake! The legion bearing the name of the Battle of Godasen cannot retreat…

My adversary resumed his speaking. "My men have breached now in the southern flank and are advancing almost unopposed. In a day at best we have control of the pass through the Duma Mountains you fiercely tried to defend. I will give you that, General, you put sticks in our wheels big time. You and your friends just north of here who we are dealing with as we speak right now. So why don't you want to cooperate and tell your troops to stand down and return home after this mess is over? Tell your friends on the northern flank of the pass in the mountains to stand down too before I order them to be burned alive with air strikes. Definitely someone good they have in command there since they are still holding up. Maybe another general or one of your best officers?" he said.

Damn this guy! He's good. Damn good. "Do you honestly believe that I'd help you invade our lands…General…Karl?"

He sighed. "Do you need me to remind you who attacked who first? Several months ago, an expeditionary force through the gate…?"

"And yet you invade us in return. Any person true to his oath to the Empire will take up arms to throw you back through the gate."

The man turned around and said something to the two guards. They then proceeded to help me on my feet and let my hands free of the metal contraption which held them captive. Gods, it felt good to feel my hands again. "Come with me, General Tasius." he almost ordered. The two escorted us, making sure I am not trying anything funny.

I couldn't make out a lot in the night but their strange carts produced light just enough for me to see bits of their camp. They had mostly tents and what looked like two buildings. The walls seemed thin and looked like they were built in a haste. Later I would learn that there I will spend a fair amount of time, in a prison.

We came to a large green tent with a red cross in a white square. There was a lot of activity going on there. Once we went in, I knew why. It was filled with wounded and people tending to them. They had many women in white coats with blood stains on them. The cries of the wounded… reminded me of my days as a young legionnaire and when I had to tend to the wounded.

But what left me dumbfounded was the presence of someone important. The general lead me to a bed on which Tullius was sleeping and recovering from his wounds. And right to him was Princess Pina with three of her knights.

"Princess Pina…" I let out a loud whisper. She was looking down on a young enemy soldier near Tullius. She raised her eyes to meet my questioning look. She frowned as she looked at me. She didn't recognize me but she was able to tell my rank from my armor.

"General…" she said. I bowed before her.

"General Tasius?" the older knight asked. The other two girls, a blonde who I guessed to be Palesti's daughter, Bozes, and a brown haired younger one looked at the aging knight.

"That is me, good sir. Who am I heaving the pleasure to meet besides her Imperial Princess and the knight Bozes Co Palesti?" I asked.

The man saluted me as he stated his name. "Grey Co Aldo! We've met before but I doubt you remember me, my lord. It was on formal occasions in my late years as a knight of the Rose Order of Knights."

"May I ask what Princess Pina and her knights are doing here, in an enemy camp?"

The princess cleared her throat before speaking. "I came to see how one of Italica's defenders is doing." and looked down to the man in green. The lad was a young one. Probably around his twenties.

I was again confused. One of the enemy soldiers a defender of Italica? Nah! "What do you mean, Princess? That young soldier is part of the army we are fighting right now. Why would he defend Italica from his own comrades?"

Princess Pina smiled at my questions before clarifying it for me. "This man and 19 other of his friends saved Italica from the soldiers of the Empire and of the vassal nations who turned to banditry after their defeat at Alnus. If it wasn't for them, General… I would be a slave or dead. Me and the whole population of the town. This one's name is Kurata if I remember well… Then…" she looked at Dietrich who was standing to my right now "…General, or former Colonel, Dietrich came with reinforcements to secure Italica." she ended with a smile on her lips.

I turned to this Dietrich to my right. "Why would you save a city of ours?" I asked.

"You forget we are not you, General Tasius. We do not plunder and burn towns, we protect the people. We even take care of the bandits in the countryside. We are the exact opposite of your armies as far as I've seen from them." Dietrich said.

I shifted my eyes to Tullius and walked near him. The man was wounded big time. Dietrich came near me and spoke with a low voice. "My men brought him 30 minutes ago. The doctor doesn't know if he will survive. Nasty shrapnel wounds he got to himself after he charged a tank formation. Probably came face to face with them unwillingly in his attempt to flank an infantry unit. You know him?"

"Yes, Legate Tullius… good man… It pains me to see him like this." I replied.

"General Tasius, if you know what is best for you, for the Empire and its people… heed her words." Dietrich said to me before leaving us alone. I think he signaled the two guards to keep an eye on us.

Her Highness came to me. "General, let us walk." she commanded and went ahead. Of course I followed her. We walked outside the tent. I followed her somewhere more quiet. Her two knights and the two guards were behind us.

She initiated dialogue, her eyes looking up at the moon. "I will answer your questions, General. I know what you have on your mind. And I'll try to be as concise as possible. We have no time, people on either sides are losing their lives. They have been dying for the past few days. I've met the Earth soldiers at Italica."

"Earth..?"

"Yes, that is how their world is called. They are a world divided in more than 200 countries. But they are very close to each other. They have worldwide organizations composed of many nations. They might even be on the road to a government who will unify all nations under one banner. And not through war." she continued.

Was she a traitor? Did she defect to the enemy? I must ask her… "How do you know so much of them, Princess?"

"I have visited their world. Italica was besieged by our former soldiers and vassals. After their defeat at Alnus, they resorted to banditry and insanity. They came to Italica and saved us. Right now we are dealing with Japan – the country we attacked and the country I visited – and their friends: United States of America, Great Britain, Germany, Italy and Canada. They have all sent soldiers and are aiding Japan in this conflict."

"I thought they were vassals for a brief moment."

"No. There is no such thing as vassalage in their world. They eliminated the concept, there are no nobles… it really is a different world, full of wonders and horrors at the same time. They have a longer history than any civilization we know on Falmart. After Italica, I went to their world and agreed with their representatives on a preliminary peace treaty."

"WHAT!?". She looked up in my eyes a bit annoyed by my outburst. "My apologies, Princess. That I did not expect to hear. Do you realize what the Senate and what your father would think of you?"

"General, that is of little concern to me. They have been very good in terms of peace. They want concessions from us and a certain autonomy to the lands around Alnus and Italica and mining rights for certain resources. Every prisoner will be released almost for free. And I've seen them, they are well fed and taken care of. Their soldiers and doctors tend even to our wounded. Hear me. I want to bring this senseless war to an end as soon as possible. They want peace. And they want to bring to justice those who orchestrated the attack through the gate. They demand justice." she said much more bitterly and with sorrow too. I could feel it in her voice.

"You would have to give them many key figures within the Senate and your father and eldest brother."

"We can work around that later on. Will you help me, General Tasius? Will you help me in convincing our dear senators to sue for peace?"

"Princess Pina…"

"Their kindness is plentiful for their friends, for the helpless, defenseless and for those who surrender. And their wrath… let us just say that you would see hell unleash before your eyes should you cross them and anger them."

What is she doing? "Princess Pina… do you actually want what is best for the Empire and its people?"

She looked at me again. Right into my dark eyes with her ruby red ones when she gave an answer I could not argue with. "You know what happened at Alnus. You know what happened at Italica… You see it before your eyes… We can't stand against such a force. They have the power to send the Empire back into the age when we didn't know how to build a single house. And every day we spend doing nothing, they receive reinforcements through the gate. They are making ready to take the capital by force and take it upon themselves to bring to justice the ones who ordered the attack on their world.

We can't hold out, General. I just want to save our country before it comes crushing down on us. The JSDF and its allies know it is more than detrimental for the entire continent to take out the largest stability factor – the Empire. But they have the means to defend themselves from anything. They can provide for the people too, should they seek refuge with the JSDF. Alnus already has some refugees. They can kill a fire dragon! General, how many more facts do I have to present you to see that it is better to make peace than chase a delusional dream of conquering!?"

I was left speechless for a few seconds. Did they? Our legionnaires were more than able to inflict casualties upon them. But we were losing many more men than they did. Alright… I will go with her now. But should she betray her words, I will see it myself to have her head. I cleared my throat before giving my answer.

"Then I shall aid you in your quest of persuading the leadership of the Empire to sue for peace, Princess Pina. But I will not hesitate to take action if you are not true to your words."

She smiled. "Good. For I am not Zorzal. Tell me, how are things back home?"

"Not the best. The Senate is arguing as always. There are the doves, those who want peace. And then there is the pro war faction. Your father, Emperor Molt, is leaving things to me, Titus and Adranos when it comes to the army affairs. And your brother… you know him all too well, Your Highness."

"Heh… Is General Titus with your legion? I remember hearing a report that his command, the 4th Legion _Dragons of Sadera_ , was destroyed at Alnus."

"Lord Adranos assigned General Titus as the commanding officer of his legion while he stays back in the capital and makes sure we get reinforcements and equipment. He is leading the 6th Legion _The Sixth of Adranos_."

"Didn't know the 6th was named after the former leader itself." Pina said with a smile.

"The old man was the one to rebuild the legion and see it restored to its former glory. He is the one who lead them in the fights against the orcs of the Knappnai mountains to the west when the orcs descended upon the local population. Nasty creatures if you ask me, milady. If not for the then General Adranos, Bellnahgo who is just north of the magic city of Rondel would have been sacked by the damn cave dwelling filthy monsters. And it is he who put down the rather rebellious tribes of the forests around Seth Lake." I praised the old man.

"I am quite familiar with General Adranos' deeds, now Lord Adranos. Is General Titus north of Bravil?"

"Yes. But I see things are going bad for him too."

She stiffened and gave me her first order. "General Tasius, my first order to you as Princess Pina of the Empire is to get your men to stand down. Talk to General Titus and get him to stand down. Right now the JSDF is slowly but surely destroying his forces just north of our location, in the fields. Save as many lives as you can. And have Lord Adranos stop sending troops westwards. We must stop the fighting."

"It might take some time to reach those who are in combat areas. And those who are isolated might keep fighting and causing trouble…"

"They have captured a mage and are holding him prisoner. Somehow they have the means to keep him sleeping for the best part of the day and he is too weakened to cast any dangerous spell. I will talk to General Dietrich, we can use the mage and his telepathic magic to send the orders as soon as possible. I will see to it right now. Many are already surrendering after tasting a first engagement with Earth Allied Armies. The power they possess scares too many, but it is better for them to surrender now and be treated well than have to bury more. Get going, General. We have a lot to do."

"As you command, Princess!"

 **END OF POV**

* * *

 **Duma Mountains, Appia highway east of Bravil**

 _D-Day + 46 days, 1100 hours_

Atop an M113 APC were Arlette and Jun, the two war correspondents tasked with documenting the more military side of Japan's campaign in the Special Region. They were escorted by a Bradley and a Type 74 tank. In the convoy were more APCs and trucks ready to evacuate wounded and dead back to Bravil and from there to field hospitals or morgues.

Both of them were required to wear a bulletproof vest and a helmet. They had set up a live wireless broadcasting station with the assistance of three technicians borrowed from Dietrich, the few he could spare. They were now broadcasting live back home through the station and through the gate. Every major news channel on Earth was now broadcasting what Jun was filming and what Arlette was speaking.

Arlette: "Hello ladies and gentlemen who are following as in front of your TVs or listening to us on radio. It's been some days since we first arrived in the Special Region to document the ongoing hostilities between the nation of Japan and its allies and the hegemonic state known as the Empire who months ago launched a surprise attack on Tokyo, Ginza district, and massacred many civilians. Their failed attempt of conquering Japan saw the intervention of an expeditionary force who is right now engaged in brutal combat against the Imperial forces.

Me and my colleague Jun here are on our way to the front lines, to where the Italian troops, the Alpini, fought hours ago a desperate fight against more numerous Imperial forces. We are with a convoy of trucks, light and heavy armor who is on its way to evacuate more wounded or dead Italian troops.

Yes, you have heard me right, dead Italian troops. According to Brigadier General Karl Dietrich, the commanding officer of the 1st Earth Allied Army who was tasked with securing a vital route through a mountain range and secure an FOB for our forces to be in striking range of the Empire's capital, informed me that his estimates of sustained casualties is around the number 1,000 soldiers."

Jun raised the camera to record the flag of Combat Unit _Europa_ , component unit of the 1st EAA. The dark blue font with the three yellow stars in the upper right and lower left, with the Canadian red maple leaf in the other corners, planet Earth sketched in the middle in white lines like the U.N.'s emblem and with the writing in golden letters of _Combat Unit Europa_. He then moved the camera just a bit lower and focused on the APC commander's face who smiled and waved to the camera before focusing again on the road ahead.

"The 1st EAA has been literally fighting for the past three days on every front – in the mountains and in the northern plains against a flanking army of the Empire. Their forces have been broken and many of their troops are surrendering to our own or are fighting desperate resistance battles in small resistance pockets which are slowly and steadily eliminated by ground forces with the assist of the AH-1 Cobra and Huey helicopters or F-4 and A-10 CAS.

Again, the hero of Ginza and his team had a role to play in defending a strategic position against superior enemy numbers who charged their positions in the opening moments of the battle. First Lieutenant Itami Youji, commanding officer of the Third Recon Team, successfully held his ground with his troops until reinforcements arrived and put an end to the Empire's attempt of flanking our boys in Bravil."

Now a wrecked Type 74 tank came into view as the convoy passed by it. The tank was incapacitated and was abandoned by the roadside.

"The tank you just saw was incapacitated by what we believe to be enemy battle mages. They have proven themselves to be more than effective in fighting our armored vehicles and infantry. Ultimately, they were just a small obstacle in the path for victory. According to rumors circulated by the soldiers, one Huey helicopter was shot down by an enemy mage who was able to cast a fire magic attack on the aircraft.

Also, the Alpini managed to capture an enemy general who was later on identified as General Tasius Lucius, commanding officer of the 7th Legion _Legacy of Godasen_. The legion who attempted to defend the mountain pass but only delayed our troops. Right now we are on our way to the sector in which the Alpini captured the general and dug in for at least two days of terrible fighting."

* * *

 **Duma Mountains, Italian sector**

 _D-Day + 46 days, 1200 hours_

After not too long, they reached the Italian positions. Jun and Arlette dismounted the APC and went ahead, escorted by soldiers, to see the Alpini. The camera captured wounded soldiers being carried to the APCs and trucks to be evacuated, soldiers with dirt on their faces and blood stains on their clothes.

One of the wounded evacuated had a knife stuck in his left arm. A small group had severe burn marks, probably from a fire attack spell cast by a mage. Others were evacuated on a stretcher. They then came to what looked like a graveyard. She was moving just in front of Jun.

Every person on Earth who was following them through Jun's camera has seen Arlette coming to a sudden halt in the clearing. She gasped and brought her right hand to her mouth, covering it. The French reporter had a shock at the sight of soldiers being buried before her eyes.

There were at least a hundred graves and more were being prepared. To the right of every grave was the body of a fallen Alpini. Jun came closer and snapped her back to reality. They then approached the men. Their woodland camo clothing was full of dirt and blood. One of the soldiers who was digging noticed them in their dark-blue vests with PRESS written on their chests and back. The man left his shovel in the ground and approached them.

"What are civilians doing here?" he asked breathing heavily.

Jun fixed the camera on the soldier who approached them. He had dirt all over his face, mixed with sweat. Arlette took the word. "We are war correspondents. My name is Arlette, the cameraman is Jun."

"Yes, I see you are war correspondents. My question is what are you doing here? We are not in the clear yet, not until reinforcements arrive."

Just before Arlette had the chance to speak again, the Italian's radio kicked in. "Major, Japanese troops are here, they are disembarking from the trucks and APCs and are headed your way. Their CO says there are 800 of them."

Arlette straightened her back. It was Major Dante she was speaking to, the commanding officer of the Italian contingent. Dante then replied through the radio: "Copy that, send them where they are needed."

Same voice on his radio: "Yes, sir. We are also ordered to take a break after they arrive here, General's orders."

"Alright, soldier. Thanks."

"Major Dante?" Arlette asked.

"Yes, that is me, miss. Now you can be here, knowing we have reinforcements we can fend off any other attack, especially when we consider how unorganized they are since we took their general prisoner. Now if you'll excuse me, miss Arlette…" Dante says and looks towards his men who were lowering the bodies into the fresh dug graves, "I must attend the funerals… You are more than welcome to join us."

The Major returned to his men and stood at attention with the others. Arlette and Jun were with them. Major Dante spoke for everyone, he knew he was being recorded and made his best.

"Alpini! The past two days were sad indeed. We have lost friends, fellow comrades. Families back home have lost brothers, sons and fathers. But they know they fell on the field of battle, true to their words. All 157 Italian soldiers died knowing they did not disappoint their predecessors. 'Nobody passes here!' was their war cry. And so was ours! I feel the weight of their deaths harder than anyone else since I was the one who was honored with the command of our unit. And I understand you all too well. Salute!" and they all saluted their fallen comrades.

Jun recorded the rows of graves marked by their rifles, helmets and dogtags. The Italian flag was flying in the wind, on a pole set up by the Alpini; the green, white and red flag wes to let everyone know that here 157 Italian soldiers were laid to eternal rest. After the soldiers broke the ranks, Arlette asked Dante: "Major, how did so many die?"

Dante was now struggling to fight off his tears before the camera. "They fought bravely against overwhelming enemy numbers and in difficult terrain. They stood true to their words as Alpini. I just hope that they will get better graves. I want to give them the cross at their heads."

"We had superior technology. Were you not able to shoot the enemy from afar?"

"We did our best. The trees provided damn good cover. Thank God for the artillery and air support or we'd all be dead otherwise. Those damn ogres, the foul beasts… they claimed half of our fallen in the last attack. I was about to get smashed by one if not for a brave young lad."

Arlette looked over Dante's shoulder at two young soldiers who were kneeling before a grave and were crying. She also noticed a blue – yellow – red ribbon tied to the M4's stock, just below the helmet. Dante looked at them. All around were soldiers who were attending to their friends' graves.

"That grave... belongs to the one who saved my life. He was killed by an ogre, every bone and organ in his body was shattered. He was Private Felix Teodoroiu." Dante said as he walked to the two remaining Romanian ethnics in his unit, the Morun brothers.

Soon, the two started singing a song and caught everyone's attention. Everybody listened and shed tears to the lyrics. Only Jun and Arlette were unable to understand exactly what they were singing since it was in Italian. The Italian adaptation for a Romanian song dedicated to those fallen in battle

 _Sprinkle on their graves, the words of praise_

 _For the fortunate heroes' sleep to be sweeter,_

 _Raise on the pyramid of immortality their fame,_

 _The song of immortality, written in the golden books._

 _The children you should fondle them with this melody,_

 _Tell them with glory about the heroes' ascension._

 _Unveil the whole truth and spread it to everyone,_

 _How your brothers died for the nation and their country._

 _And on the sacred graves lay down tears and flowers,_

 _For the thousands of soldiers to have a sweet sleep._

 _Raise on the pyramid of immortality their fame,_

 _The song of immortality, written in the golden books._

 _The children you should fondle with this melody,_

 _Tell them with glory about the heroes' ascension._

 _Unveil the whole truth and spread it to everyone,_

 _How your brothers died for the nation and their country._

* * *

 **Special Region, Fel'kren, Mountain Range of Ice and Snow**

 _Meanwhile_

Alistair was in his winter woodland camo clothing and equipped for combat. He sat down on his knees on the wooden floor in his room. His black helmet on his head, black knee and elbow pads on. He was checking his rifle and pistol one more time. He had enough food in his backpack for a while. Mack's notebook was still there, he really wanted to get that one to his family.

He closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. He was pained by something. Was it the last time Emroy visited him in his sleep? He told him that he will fight again and it will be soon. And every damn day with no action makes him more and more uncomfortable. The words the god of war and darkness said to him… that he will fight again, that he will entertain him, that the darkness will be there for him…

The sound of the opening door woke him up from his thoughts. Alia's voice spoke with some resignation: "Al… it's time to leave…". He then heard her heavy footsteps walking along the hallway. She had her armor on. Alistair closed his backpack and got up on his feet. He turned around and walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.

He walked downstairs and joined Alia on the staircase. He looked at her shorter frame, took in her dark blue hair as it danced a little bit at her every step. He held his rifle in his left hand. Downstairs they met with Vigor who had a questioning expression on his face.

Vigor: "Where are you two going?"

Alia: "Vigor, old man… I thank you for your hospitality. But we must get going. We need to reach Alnus or Italica at least."

Vigor: "Why?"

Alistair: "We cannot leave you people like this. The army I'm with is more than likely to be fighting the Empire right now. And I don't see the commanders to authorize an expeditionary force so far up north too soon. I intend to return and change their mind. We have no idea how long this standoff with Hardy will be up. She might create more of her hellish spawn, monsters and who knows what else… and come for everyone."

Alia: "We have to leave, Vigor. We can't spend an eternity here just because we have a break. Take care, old man!"

She hugged him and the innkeeper returned the hug. "Take care out there child! I do have a feeling you'll be back."

Alistair simply gave a military salute and left the inn. He was shortly followed by Alia. Her blue colors were not matching at all Alistair's green and black. They made their way to the southern gate from where they wanted to make their way south. Probably reach the Row stream and buy or build a boat to travel by water just like Titus did when he took his men from the capital to the Row and used the river as a means of transportation to the Romaria Mountains.

Alistair: "You're awfully quiet, girl."

She gave him a fake smile. "There is nothing I have on my mind right now, that's why. Don't worry."

Alistair: "You're not particularly good at telling lies, you know?"

Alia: "Bah! I'm just thinking of what Emroy told you. Nothing interesting happened these past few days… Nothing interesting for him."

Alistair: "Yeah… Man, I'm so looking forward to see my team and that lazy ass Itami. Even if for a short time… I want to see them."

Alia: "Maybe I'll meet them too. What kind of people are they?"

Alistair smiled as he remembered their few adventures through the Special Region after their deployment. "Good people. They like to help. They are good soldiers. When you meet them, you'll see for yourself."

They arrived at the southern gate. The guards bid them farewell. They were well known in town for their assistance in defending the town. Some locals were gathering to see them. Once they were passed the gates, they felt the cold win blowing against their faces.

The gates did not close behind them because of those who wanted to watch them leave. The two companions smiled at each other when they noticed it. But just as they turned their attention on the road ahead, they came to a sudden halt.

Before them stood a woman. Moments ago she wasn't there. But now, she was in the middle of the road with a scythe in her hand and white showing clothing. Her skin was an ocean blue and her hair white. She even had dragon wings and her feet resembled that of a dragon's.

Alistair narrowed his eyes and put his finger on the trigger but didn't point the M4 at her. Alia put her left hand on the sword's hilt, gently moving her fingers on it, ready to strike her down if she was hostile.

"My, my… you don't have to be so tense. It's not like it will be of any good, you know…" she said.

Alistair asked with a demanding tone: "Who are you!?"

"Does it really matter for someone who is about to die?"

Alistair: "So, you don't care about you name, girl?"

Alia spoke with anger: "She is Giselle, Hardy's apostle."

Giselle: "Ooh, someone not that stupid."

Alia: "The only stupid around here is you, you monster!"

Giselle gave a crazy laugh at Alia's words. "So, were these your last words?"

Alia was about to draw her blade when Alistair's left hand fell on her right arm. She gave him a questioning look. His eyes were pretty calm for the situation at hand. He nodded, dropped his backpack and took a few steps forward.

Alistair: "What makes you so sure you can… kill us?"

Giselle: "You fool! Don't you know who I am?"

Alistair: "Hardy's bitch, obviously."

Giselle got angry. "Big mouth for a dead worm! Don't mess with an apostle!" she shouted as she charged forward.

Alistair just raised his rifle and fired at her. Giselle felt the bullets tore through her cloth and flesh and collapsed in pain, staining the snowy road red. Alistair reloaded his gun, he fired an entire clip. He then spoke softly as he walked towards her: "You're not even half of what Rory is. She radiates danger. You make me laugh!"

He was startled when Giselle moved her hand just a second after she collapsed. She helped herself up with a grin. Alistair noticed the bullets on the ground. _'What!? She regenerated? And so fast!? Damn, can't imagine what Rory can do…'_ his mind spoke to itself.

She used her scythe to knock Alistair off his feet and to the ground. She got up and knocked the rifle off Alistair's hands when he was still disoriented from the fall. She then raised her scythe to kill Alistair. Just when he was about to roll over, Alia's blade came from Giselle's right and stabbed her where the liver would be. She let out a cry of pain as she staggered back. Alia pulled her blade out of Giselle and helped Alistair get up on his feet.

"Thanks!"

"Don't mention it. She seems to leave herself open far too much."

"Don't get cocky, the two of you!" Giselle taunted as she recovered from her wound and charged ahead. Alia blocked her scythe from swinging further on with her katana. Giselle, being an apostle, possesses the strength of several well built men. She was overpowering Alia. Alistair delivered a roundhouse kick to Giselle's left temple and threw her back, freeing Alia from her impossible duel.

' _Where the bloody hell is my rifle!?'_ he kept asking himself while looking around. His gun was nowhere to be seen and there was no time to search for it with an apostle who made her life goal to kill the two of them.

"I must admit that you have Rory's smell on you, you damn bastard." Giselle said as she prepared another attack. She sprinted towards Alia and knocked her on her back with a knee hit to her stomach. Alistair could swear he saw a small steel plate bend from the hit. Alia fell flat on her back and gasped for air. Her armor did a good job in absorbing most of the blow's force. The Frost Guard had one of the best armor sets.

Giselle continued racing towards Alistair. He ducked in the last moment and grabbed her by the legs. Giselle stumbled and missed her slicing attack with the massive scythe. Alistair got on top of her and punched her a few times in the jaws and even ears to disorient her. He then immediately pulled his knife and went for a stab but his opponent caught his arm by the wrist and threw him off.

Alistair rolled over two times from the force he was thrown with, knife still in hand. He got back up and started dodging blows and slashes from Giselle. His hand to hand combat was something he could brag about. At one moment he held the knife in his left hand and, as he dodged yet another scythe attack, he dodged to his right side and was able to cut Giselle's throat open with the knife and his momentum.

Blood gushed once more. She wasn't able to breathe and was chocking on her own blood. But due to her regenerative powers it wasn't for long. Each time she suffered injuries she was getting more and more upset. Alistair rushed over at Alia and helped her get on her feet. But Giselle's blow brought both of them down again. She grabbed the British officer from his neck and punched him in the chest, shattering several ribs.

He was then thrown against a tree. His entire torso hurt like hell. Alia attempted another slash and Giselle. She cut her arm but Giselle didn't mind it. She, in return, cut Alia's right hand from elbow to shoulder with the tip of her scythe. The young blue haired warrior fell crying in pain, her blue clothing soaking with blood. Giselle was walking towards Alistair.

When he saw Alia's condition it was like something had awaken in him. He was filled with rage and anger against Hardy's apostle. "You god damn whore!" he screamed in anger.

"I will enjoy myself with your girlfriend's dead body afterwards!" Giselle spat an insult as she was closing the distance with an evil smile, her teeth showing. Alistair showed an unbreakable will and, leaning against the tree, got up on his feet.

"I see you still have some strength left. Other humans would have come to a halt by now.. but you…" BANG! The apostle felt a sharp pain in her back. She turned around only to see Alia forcing herself to fire the M1911 Alistair gave her. This first shot was the only one that counted because she wasn't accurate with her left hand and the other six just missed. Giselle just growled at her. Alia couldn't do anything in her condition right now.

Giselle then turned around and saw Alistair pointing the same pistol model at her. At first she as dumbfounded. She glanced back at Alia. _'No! She still has that weapon in her hand!'_ she thought before blacking out from a .45 ACP round in the head.

"No way she survived that…" Alistair said and slowly tried to make his way towards Alia. He was very weakened from the injuries and blood was slowly coming out of his mouth. "No, Al! Don't get close to her!" Alia warned.

"What..? She's de…" but he was so wrong. _'Then I have to gut you open like a fish and cut every limb of yours.'_ he thought to himself. Giselle's bloodshot red eyes met his. He was unable to move when he stared into her eyes. She immediately grabbed him from his neck once more.

"Die, you human weakling! And watch me kill your woman as you suffocate when I crush your wind pipe!" she grimly said and applied a lot of pressure to his neck before letting him down. Alistair's head fell with his eyes towards Alia, his life force was slowly diminishing from his body with every failed attempt to breathe.

' _NO! NO NO NO!'_ he shouted in his mind. Giselle let out a crazy laugh before walking towards Alia. "Watch me as I do the same to her.". These words infuriated him to the extreme. _'ALIAAA! GET OUT OF HERE!'_ his mind screamed again. _'You bitch… Hardy… I'm sorry girl… AAAA!'_. In his dying moments, Lieutenant Alistair was nothing more than the embodiment of anger and wrath.

The world went dark just when Giselle reached Alia. The last thing he saw was blurry and it was the image of Giselle reaching with her right hand for a grounded Alia.

The next thing he knew was darkness. He felt only anger in a very dark place with no light at all. He was too busy with worrying for Alia to start asking himself where he was now. For all he cared, he could be in hell.

"I'll kill you, you damn bitch! You and your lesbian master, Hardy!" he screamed.

Then he heard a deep grave voice laughing. It was familiar. Was it Emroy?

"Who is there!?" he asked. "I have no time for these games!"

"Indeed, you don't. In a few moments the person you hold dear will die."

"Let me out of here! Let me get back there!"

"Uh!? I must admit, you are stupid. While you three entertained me… you are dead now, soldier."

"What? Dead!?"

"What else? I see that you died angry, with grudge in your soul. You will be a restless one and cause me trouble if I take you in right now…"

"Dammit! ALIAA!"

"Do you want to return back?"

"Huh?"

"That girl will be your sin… soldier. She is the reason you died without peace in your soul. She is the reason I cannot take you in right now. And she is the reason for your curse. She will be… no, she already is. She is your sin!"

"SEND ME BACK TO HER ALREADY! I MUST SAVE HER!"

"Yes! Yes! Yes! AHAHAHAA! Yeees, feel the rage burn you, fuel you! Are you sure you want to go back? I ask you more as a formality because the answer is clear to me. Do you really wish to?"

"YES!"

"You will not be the same, remember that. I will grant you the means to entertain me more. But you will never be the same once you return. They will not see a human anymore, for you will not be a human once you go back."

"SHUT IT AND SEND ME BACK THERE ALREADY!"

"As you wish. Here, touch that dark flame…" and, indeed, a dark flame appeared before his eyes in the darkness. It shed an unnatural dark light. "It will give you everything you need to know. Remember that in your quest for life you will only find death. And remember, when you touch it… remember how your companion will die! Then imagine Giselle pleasuring herself with her corpse! Hahahahaha!"

Emroy's last words pumped every last bit of rage into Alistair's now dead soul. He reached his ethereal hand and grabbed the flame. As soon as he did that, a white flash blinded him. The next thing he saw… was Giselle slowly grabbing Alia by her chin.

* * *

 **AN:** So… wow, finally finished writing. Please, leave a full review on this chapter :D everything you thought about it. About the Italians, Tasius and Pina and Dietrich and the last part with Alistair and Alia. Review and 'till the next time!


	26. Ch 26 - Where Hope & Daylight Die

**The Tundra Fox:** I'm more than happy t oblige with your idea of theater. I will put it in the cultural exchange once we get over the war and calming the waters :D. Thanks for the idea! And I took their names randomly for most. Titus sounded Roman to me and so did Tasius, Kaeso and Caius. Tullius is borrowed from Skyrim as name but not as a character :p

 **Recordman:** I will try not to disappoint you and everyone else in the diplomatic arc of my story :D noted on everything you said. Dunno' though if I will bring Myui that far from Italica. Maybe more indirectly let her know and react and act.

* * *

 **Chapter 26: Where Hope & Daylight Die**

* * *

 **Special Region, Fel'kren southern gate**

 _D-Day + 46 days_

Giselle had just killed Alistair by crushing his throat and leaving him to suffocate and die. She was now slowly making her way to Alia who could not move.

"Now… for you, little warrior of the Frost… How do you want me to use your body when we are done here?" she asked Alia as she lifted her up with her left hand at her neck, mostly holding her jaw and causing her pain.

"…damn… you!" Alia whispered in anger and tried to stab Giselle in the heart with the dagger she always carried with her. The apostle just caught her left hand who was her only usable hand and made her drop the weapon. Giselle was now almost laughing as she grinned at Alia and prepared to crush her neck too.

For the 27 year old warrior with the dark blue hair and eyes, moments seemed to pass like years. _'I'm sorry, father… mother… Master Askil… I will meet you soon… I'm sorry, Al… '_ she resigned herself with tears in her eyes.

Giselle was almost upset to see her not struggling anymore. "Oh, well..." she said and wanted to make the final move. But a hand fell on her left arm. It immediately applied pressure on Giselle's left arm and made her squeal in pain. She let go of Alia who fell to the ground on her butt and started coughing.

' _What!?'_ she asked mentally. The hand which was covered by a black glove and had green colored clothes pushed her back. Giselle turned her head just a little to the left and saw him. She saw Alistair staring into her very eyes with his own. But his eyes were not the same – they were very dark in color, almost pitch black. She could barely distinguish his pupils from the iris, both were the same deep black color, the pupil just a bit darker than the iris.

Alistair then delivered a roundhouse kick into her chest, his military issue boots amplifying the blow and shattering her ribcage. Giselle flew several meters in the air before a tree brought her to a sudden halt. Hardy's apostle looked up, not believing what she saw. She looked to make sure it wasn't her eyes who were playing a trick on her. But it was true. She saw the man she just killed earlier. A strange dark fire was burning on his face.

His facial features were fading into the black fires which were consuming his face. His lips were gone, his nose was gone, his skin and flesh were fading too. The last to disappear were his eyes who left space for two empty eye sockets delimited by bones. The skull showing itself through the dark flames gazed into Giselle's eyes. It was like his whole essence was nothing more than a dark burning fire. The clothes were untouched though and the fire and black mist which appeared instead of his flesh was coming out of places where the skin was exposed to the elements.

That empty skull put on an evil and mad smile as it gazed into Giselle's eyes. Something in his deathly glare struck a primal fear in her she never thought existed. Her instincts told he to get up and run away. But her body was regenerating slower and slower for every injured she had to take. _'How1? I killed him! He is just a human. How did this happen!?'_

Alia who now was done coughing opened her eyes and looked up. She recognized the uniform. It was Alistair. _'But how? I've seen him die… What is that black mist and fire coming out of him…?'_ she asked herself the same questions, questions that were ravaging Giselle's reason.

"Al…" she whispered more. He directed his attention at Alia for a brief moment. She saw it – the skull, the empty eye sockets devoured in the dark fire. For a moment she saw the fires returning back into the flesh they arose from. The left side of his face started to reappear on his skull as it stared at Alia. But the young woman was more scared than anything else. She felt it too – something inside her told her to run, every cell in her body wanted to get away from him, from the stare of death.

Alistair noticed the change in her mood from curious to scared and probably outright horrified. "Get here out of here!" he shouted towards the two guards who couldn't believe their eyes either at the scenes developing just at the exit of their town. They were like statues, refused to move. Alistair repeated himself: "Get the Frost warrior out of here or save me the trouble of killing you!" with a commanding and threatening voice. The two guards ran towards Alia and took her to the gate from where they cowered and watched the supernatural unfold right before their eyes.

"Get the priest to heal her, now!" a guard said and one of the civilians ran in a wild sprint to the local temple.

' _What… What happened to him? Why does he have this aura of imminent doom? Why is he like this? What happened to him? What.. Who is he?'_. Alia couldn't help but ask herself and look for answers. The curiosity and fear almost made her forget about the pain from the ugly wound the apostle inflicted upon her.

Giselle now stood up on her feet, having regenerated her body. She gave a laugh more out of her endless pool of ego. "You certainly know how to make an entrance." she said while readying her scythe and charging towards the revived British soldier.

She swung her enormous scythe for a cut from the right to the left side. Her opponent did not move, only watched her with the same look in his missing eyes. When they were close enough, the scythe came in a circular attack too fast for a normal man to dodge. "No time to dodge it!" she exclaimed feeling victorious.

"Then I won't dodge it." he coldly shot back and closed the distance between them just enough for him to catch the hilt and stop the massive weapon with his right hand. Giselle was petrified with a shocked expression on her otherwise grinning face. _'I cannot fail my mistress!'_ was her resolve to fight him.

Alistair tightened his grip on the hilt. He pulled it hard enough to snatch it out of Giselle's hands and threw it away. Then, the same right hand found itself around Giselle's neck. "Let's see how you like it, you damn bitch!" he grimly said and started running with her in his hands towards a tree in which he slammed her and crushed everything within her neck at the same moment, giving cracking noises. Her shape left a mark on the thick tree's trunk.

Giselle then fell down in pain and panic she never knew before. Her regenerating abilities kicked in and started healing her wounds but her eyes were only looking down at his boots, unable to lift her head up for now.

"Hahahaha!" a crazy laughter erupted from his mouth. It could be heard for hundreds of meters, it echoed through the trees and reverberated in the air. "Not so tough now, are you?" a bloodthirsty Alistair taunted her before deliver a brutal kick to her head with his right leg. She immediately fell on her right side and hit a rock. The result was a fractured skull for the draconic apostle who was now lying there in a pool of her own blood. The white hair was stained red.

"Come on! Kill me! Kill meeee!" Alistair's ghostly figure of a skeleton covered in dark fire and military clothing shouted at the downed apostle.

"You… you monster! I will kill… you… and this entire town. And your little frie-" Giselle said after recovering a bit but his boot fell on her jaw, breaking it and leaving her unable to speak.

Alistair grabbed her by her clothing and helped her stand up again. "Haahahahaha! You stupid worthless creature, you worm of an apostle! At least you got one thing right, I am a monster! But you will never end me. You are not a monster slayer, you are just a lesser monster!" his jaws erupted again in laugh. He straightened his right arm outwards and help his palm open. From underneath his clothes a jet of dark fire came out and formed what looked like a dark katana in his hand.

"Scream!" he ordered to his defiant enemy and stabbed her in the belly with the magic blade. He stabbed her again, and again, and again. Every time she would let out cries of pain. "SCREAM! Is this how you would have screamed while using Alia's corpse for your carnal desires!? SCREAM TO ME!" he said while continuously stabbing her with the katana.

"AAGH! AH! AAAAAAA!" were Giselle's repeated signs of suffering. She was blacking out from the blood loss, her body now unable to keep up with the rate at which she was injured.

"Oh, no no no no! You aren't getting away so easy, now are you?" he calmly said. He let go of the katana and it dispersed into a mist into the air. He then hit her so hard in the abdomen he tore her flesh apart. His nails dug in and made a hole into the already riddled belly with katana holes. He was now simply pushing his hand more and more into her insides until he found her spine and crushed it in his hand before coming out through the other side, through her back.

The townspeople and Alia were shocked to their very essence by the brutality he displayed. He was so lucid while doing this, even chuckling. Giselle cried out one more time in time, this time so hard and loud one would say it was impossible.

"Oh look! You've got a hole in you! Should seal that up before you get a cold…" but Giselle was now unconscious and unable to hear him. Her head fell backwards and her half open eyes were rolled over. Several blood streams were coming out of her mouth.

He wanted now to chop her apart, limb by limb to make sure she would never pose a problem again. But his plans were cut short when a fiery portal appeared ten meters to his right side. Out of it came a tall, slender and beautiful figure with chocolate brown skin and eyes and white hair. Alistair, or what was left of him, let out a long and heavy sigh in excitement.

"Hardy…" he said and threw Giselle's incapacitated body on the snowy ground with blood spurting out of the hole he left in her abdomen and back. He then sprinted towards Hardy but a strong and focused wind hit him. Alistair crossed his hands before his face and tried to move. But the wind was too strong and he was standing still.

Hardy then slowly walked towards Giselle and picked her up in her arms. She then turned around and walked towards her portal. But the now berserk Alistair screamed in anger: "HAAARDYYYYYY!"

The goddess simply let out an annoyed "Tsch!" sound and with her hand's motion, a fiery inferno appeared and raced towards Alistair. But when the fire reached him, he simply shrugged it off with his hand. Hardy narrowed her eyes before speaking.

"Emroy…"

Alistair's voice was now changed. "Hardy… I will not let you destroy my newly found source of entertainment." spoke Emroy though Alistair's demonic form.

"Neither will I allow my apostle suffer like this at anyone's hands anymore." she casually replied.

"I must say that this situation is without precedent. When was the last time we had to come down here?" Emroy asked again.

Hardy didn't bother anymore. She just left through her portal which closed behind her. "Eh… Well, time to go back." Emroy said softly. Before he did so, he used Alistair to speak to Alia who was just petrified. Fear and denial could be read on her face. She didn't want to believe this was her newly found friend.

"Worry not, young warrior… He will not be always like this." He said. The fires were now returning to flesh and Alistair's face was now taking shape again, his bones hidden under the new flesh and skin. "Neither will he be the same. But he will make me laugh! Hahahahaha!" Emroy said one more time before leaving his body. Alistair simply fell to the ground, having consumed himself in the process. The guards immediately rushed at him and brought him inside the walls.

* * *

 **AN:** So, I wanted to let this out as its own separate chapter. The next one will take longer to write and all that stuff :p what do you think? Leave your thoughts via PM or reviews. This was one od the important plot twists for my story. I'll ask you not to judge Alistair too harshly because not everything is what it seems to be.


	27. Ch 27 - Phantom Of The Opera

**ATP:** Dunno' yet for sure if the gate will ever close in my story.

 **TheGlimpseOfLifeAndDeath:** Probably in due time :D thanks! I hope you'll be here at the end of the story too and probably for the sequel.

 **the renegade soldier:** Thank you for your review, man! Good to see you here :D I thought I overdid it with Alistair and his plot line. And there will be more badassery in the future chapters.

 **Kamzil118:** I didn't read that story of yours to be honest. I just thought of a soldier whose flesh would turn into a fiery dark inferno. And that looked a lot of badass to me so I used it :D

 **Arimane503:** Thank you! I wasn't going to stop here, now was I :D ? More magic and supernatural and other elements fit for a fantasy story will be added but will not overdo it. Stay tuned!

* * *

 **Chapter 27: Phantom Of The Opera**

* * *

 **BBC World News**

 _D-Day + 48 days_

After the recently disclosed events by Japan and its allies, every news channel is debating what the world learned. One such channel is BBC World News. Around a table were the news anchor who's a woman, an economic analyst who was a man in his 40s, another man being the defense and military analyst and a lawyer.

News Anchor: "Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to our debate today where we will talk about the recent events that took place in what the Japanese people call the Special Region, name adopted by the rest of the world. And believe me there are actually a lot of things to go through. So, let us begin.

I'll make a short synopsis for everyone who is not up to date with the ongoing hostilities between Earth and the world beyond the gate. After the successful defense of a strategic town called Italica and establishing friendly diplomatic and military relations with the current ruler of the town and the surroundings, the Earth Allied forces as they call themselves now established a forward operations base. You can say it has become their second base after Alnus Hill.

After that, the 1st Earth Allied Army under the command of now Brigadier General Karl Dietrich attacked the city of Bravil which fell in a day of fighting. They seized the castle and the entrance to a pass through the Duma Mountain range which lies between the capital of the Empire, Sadera, and Italica.

Several days of bloody fights ensued when our forces attempted to cross the mountains. It took a heavy toll on the 1st EAA with more than one thousand dead soldiers. Japanese, German, Canadian, American and Italian soldiers fell in what was named the Battle for the Duma Mountains.

And wait! It gets better! Major Dante's Alpini were able to take an enemy general prisoner. This was the commanding officer of the enemy forces in the Duma Mountains. Immediately after he was captured, Imperial forces started a disorganized retreat towards east.

Under orders from Princess Pina Co Lada, daughter of the current ruler of the Empire, Emperor Molt Sol Augustus, this captured general who goes by the name of Tasius ordered his men to stand down, unofficially taking place a ceasefire agreement. And just this morning, local time, the second general of the Imperial Army, General Titus, ordered his forces who were engaging the 1st EAA on the northern flank to cease any hostilities.

Princess Pina Co Lada who accepted to be the mediator for peace negotiations between Earth and the Empire is now acting as the supreme commander of the …remnants of the two legions of the two generals. She has the soul of a soldier, you know? The two generals accepted to lend their aid and joined her in the mutual quest for peace. Word has it that they are the two brightest military minds of the Empire right now. What do you all make of this?"

Defense analyst: "Our guys are doing a great job there. With the breach through what was the only natural defensive location between Alnus and Sadera and gaining the support, although not at the extent we wanted, of two Imperial generals puts us in a very powerful position. In one or two weeks time at best we will be able to launch an offensive towards their capital and other major cities."

Lawyer: "Let's not forget that we are making ready for peace talks with these people. We can't just send in troops to seize the capital by force while negotiations are taking place."

Defense analyst: "I may not have used the best words there. What I meant is that we are in a commanding position right now. At least on a military level. This will give us a big edge at the table."

News anchor: "Let me ask one question that I am sure is on most people's minds. Why did our forces who are hundreds of years ahead of the Empire in technology take such terrible losses?"

Defense analyst: "You have to define terrible. Indeed, even a dead person is a tragedy but when you look at it on a greater scale, our losses are very low compared to the Empire's. According to what was released to the public, almost 14,000 human lives were lost by the Empire. What gave them the possibility to inflict those losses on our side, the 1,000+ casualties, was the terrain on which the battle took place. The mountains are ideal natural formations when it comes to choosing a defensive location.

The trees offer great cover and one can move a large force in such terrain in smaller units to avoid detection. Our own had to secure the flanks of the Appia highway and, due to the terrain, they came into close quarters engagements with the legionnaires. They were able to close the distance between them and our positions at the cover of the forest or other natural formations, say a ridge or a cliff… Had it not been for this Titus and his troops threatening with a flanking maneuver the 1st EAA, our boys could have avoided so many casualties by having more air support at their disposal. But General Dietrich relocated every available unit he had to deal with Titus as soon as possible."

News anchor: "Are you saying General Dietrich is responsible for the many casualties?"

The defense analyst shook his head. "No. Of course not. From my point of view, he did everything right. He's seen the threat to his forces, he ordered a dig in and defend to his troops in the mountains and focused on Titus. You have to make concessions in this kind of situations. Have we had more boots on the ground there, we could have easily overwhelmed the defenders but the command and political class wanted to rush things. General Dietrich did his best and he did it well in the field."

News anchor: "I understand. Regarding the peace talks, I think we should tell our viewers who will be part of Earth's diplomatic delegation into the Special Region. Representing Japan's interests will be Sugawara Koji and Shirayuri Reiko. Representing the countries members of the European Union will be Ryland Rowe, born in the UK and has a pretty impressive list of accomplishments on his resume, we can say that mister Rowe is really cut for the job. Not to mention he was chosen by the U.N. too for this job. And representing the United States of America and Canada at the negotiations table will be Oscar Campbell."

Economical analyst: "Got to say, seeing mister Rowe on the list does not surprise me. Man's known for his work and skill in defusing tense situations, especially in the Middle East."

Lawyer: "We are in for a big change in the world with the recent events. I just want to point out that on the opposite side of the table will be Countess Myui of Italica, Princess Pina Co Lada, maybe Emperor Molt Sol Augustus and one of the more influential senators which the princess believes will want to be present, leader of the Imperial Senate – Marquis Casel."

News anchor: "Isn't this Countess Myui just a child? If I remember what I read about her, she is just 11 years old. And she is supposed to be a subject of the Empire."

Defense analyst: "Didn't we want to obtain a certain autonomy for the lands around Alnus and Italica? Although Countess Myui is very young she is still the heir to the town of Italica and the Formal lands and is caught right in the middle. Two important roads meet at Italica: Appia and Dessria. It is a most vital position for any military and she knows this. She may be young but she is not stupid. General Dietrich sees her as a valuable ally."

Economic analyst: "Plus her town would thrive from the trade that will take place between Alnus and other markets further north, east or west. We are already building shops in the civilian district of Alnus and at the newly established FOB outside Italica."

News anchor: "What do you believe, will the Empire submit to our requests? What if they find unacceptable some of our higher priority terms?"

Defense analyst: "I doubt that. We are the ones with the bigger muscles to flex. Who has the most advantages in the field, he will be the one to dictate at the table of negotiations."

Lawyer: "I am sure our delegates can obtain what interests us. But what we have to be careful with is to not destabilize the entire country. From what we know so far, the Empire is the largest and most powerful country from a military and economic point of view. Should we throw this Empire into chaos somehow, we could have Fall of Rome v2.0, you get what I mean. Not a pleasant period of time."

News anchor: "Indeed. And we had no beast races here. No ogres, orcs or God knows what else is there. Now, we have to consider the fact that the Empire has kidnapped citizens of Earth. After the Ginza incident, many people went missing and some of those missing were found in the Special Region.

The same man known as the Hero of Ginza lead his team, the Third Recon Team, and in a surprise attack on a mining complex which relied on slaves as workforce. His name is Itami Youji as you may already know and among the freed people were a Korean citizen and an American. There are those in the public whose voices carry weight and demand retribution against a country which uses war as its diplomacy and for enslaving our citizens. For all we know the women might be sex slaves in who knows what corners of the Empire."

Lawyer: "It is indeed a sad fact that such barbaric practices are common in the Empire. Don't forget we were like that too two thousand years ago. We can get them back faster via diplomacy rather than flip every stone and search every house on the other side of the gate."

Economic analyst: "Only the nobility or rich merchants could afford slaves. Let alone sex slaves which used to be expensive in our past. That will narrow our list of suspects. I'm sure the JSDF has thought about this."

Defense analyst: "If they were turned over to the slave market. The common soldiers might have taken advantage of them and even killed them. It's a lot more complicated than that."

Lawyer: "Depending on what happens to those still in captivity, I see the U.N. and the people calling for justice against the Empire. This can have severe repercussions on the relations between the two worlds."

News anchor: "Would they call for a full military occupation of the Empire or other drastic actions?"

Defense analyst: "That would be impossible. Their territory is too vast and we would require a large number of personnel and material to efficiently occupy the Empire. And I don't see our militaries viewing this policy with a lot of interest."

Lawyer: "We are not here to ruin their civilization or anything like that. No! It is our duty to help the Empire grow and overcome their current attitude, which I think everyone will agree is nothing short of barbaric. They can learn a lot from us and we can help them avoid the mistakes we made centuries ago."

Economic analyst: "With the risk of sounding like a complete mad man or a psychopath, depending of what you are thinking, I think we should allow them to make certain mistakes and learn for themselves. If we just serve them everything on a silver plate then they will have big holes in their knowledge and general education. Not education you receive from your parents or at a public institution, but education as a society, as a civilization."

Defense analyst: "Can't argue with that."

Economic analyst: "What about a military force large enough to defend points of interest and the mining centers we aim to obtain? One of the reasons we are interested in the Special Region is because of the possibility of obtaining resources for our world."

Defense analyst: "As long as our lines are not stretched too thin, that will not be a problem."

Lawyer: "Is it right to just go in there and rob them of natural resources which may prove vital for their technological development in the distant future?"

Economic analyst: "That is not moral. I will not defend ourselves and say that it is right to demand mining rights wherever we find important resources such as oil and natural gases. But we are already close to achieving electric cars which won't pollute our atmosphere anymore. It will take time for a large scale transition but I am confident we will be able to do so. But we are kind of running low on oil here and we still need it. We are giving up fossil energy sources and are embracing renewable energy. We're on the right path, I'd say."

News anchor: "Yes, that is an interesting aspect to consider. There would be one more thing I'd like to say before we finish. It is about the fallen soldiers. The majority of those dead have returned home to be buried here on Earth. But the Italian commander at the moment has buried his men close to the battlefield where they died. They have set up a small cemetery there and it is under guard 24/7. What is your opinion about this?"

Lawyer: "I believe they should have been returned home and buried home."

Economic analyst: "Honestly… I don't know what to say. The more moral part of me says that they should have been buried back home and not in the mountains in an alien world. Another part of me says that it is better this way."

Defense analyst: "I, as a former soldier myself, can totally understand why Major Dante decided to bury his men there and will approve of his actions. He didn't know when help would arrive and he didn't want for him or his soldiers to see their comrades rot before their own eyes, exposed to the elements. It was only natural to find a good spot and lay them to eternal sleep there. And after the second major engagements they had to deal with, when more 100 Alpini died, it only seemed right for them to rest along their already buried comrades.

The same can't be said about the Imperial troops. They were buried in large mass graves near the Italian cemetery. According to the disclosed reports, there were barely things left to burry from many of the deceased legionnaires. Many were torn apart by the explosions or dismembered in the fighting. While some will argue that it is not right and that we should have given them individual graves, you have to consider the fact that they were still in a zone of conflict. The enemy could have returned at any moment and there was the threat of what the locals there call 'necrophags', some beings who feast on the exposed dead and even attack the living to consume them at times. By burying everyone another potential disaster was avoided. Not to say that these necrophags can spread diseases like that is their sole purpose in life."

News anchor: "I'm happy I don't live in the Special Region, that is for sure. Who knows what other creatures live there. Thank you for being with us, ladies and gentlemen. Please stay on BBC World News after the break. So we can talk about South Korea's decision of sending their Marine Corps into the Special Region and analyze the possibility of other countries doing the same."

* * *

 **Special Region, Earth Allied Army camp**

 _D-Day + 48 days, noon_

After days of fighting on the front lines, RCT3 was now resting. They had a small break after the defense of Collis village and the hill with the same name against Tullius' vanguard. But they were sent back to the front lines to aid in the clearing out of resistance pockets.

Now that the last Imperial troops had surrendered or retreated, they pulled back to their largest camp northwest of Bravil and northeast of Italica. The camp was large enough to accommodate more than 3,000 troops at any given time. But it was a temporary one. After the campaign is over they will retreat closer to Bravil or Italica.

But for now, the order of regrouping with the other forces was not here and didn't look like it will arrive soon. Itami had a nice meal and was now resting under a tree at the outskirts of the camp. He had his helmet covering his eyes and his rifle resting by his side. He was so tranquil, relaxed and sleepy. But it wasn't going to be this quiet and nice for long. Track screeching, engine roar and the sound of a closing Leopard 2 had Itami up again.

' _What in the world could they want now?'_ Itami asked himself a bit annoyed as he helped himself stand up. _Hussar Three_ came to a halt just a few meters before him. Half his team were riding the tank's turret.

Itami: "Oy, what's going on here? Don't you guys have anything to do?"

Off the turret jumped Tomita, Kurata, Pvt Carter, Kurokawa, Inigo and even Rory. Itami stood there frozen. When Erwin came out of his tank, Itami snapped out of it.

"Rory… Kurata… Pvt Carter… what are you all doing here?" he asked.

"Magic can do wonders, lieutenant. One of the mages who surrendered to us gave a hand in healing the wounded. Apparently he is the equivalent of Mari-san here, combat medics. They healed me and Pvt Carter here. By the way, we just arrived an hour ago to this camp." Kurata explained.

"It's good to see you all back, guys! But what brings you here, Rory?"

Rory came forward and adopted her "hands on hips" posture. "What, are you sad that you see me, Youji?"

"No! Not at all, really. I'm actually happy to see you." Itami said as he came closer to Rory and gave her a hug. Rory thought to herself _'He smells more of death and violence. And his mind is under stress too… Youji…'_

"It is good to see you again, soldier." a strange yet kind of familiar voice spoke. Itami raised his head rom Rory's shoulder and looked up to see the blue-indigo fur of a wolf man.

"Ehm… Inigo, was it?" Itami asked.

"Yes. Honored you remembered my name."

"What are you doing here?" the commanding officer of RCT3 asked.

At this point, Tomita took it upon himself to explain. "Lieutenant, Inigo and Rory are temporary attaches to RCT3 during our next mission."

"And what mission would that be?"

Tomita handed a set of papers to Itami to read as he summarized it up. "We have two days to rest and prepare for the next mission. It consists in locating an retrieving Lt Alistair. General Hazama decided to send those who volunteer from among the ranks of RCT3. We must inform command tomorrow morning how many of us want to go on the rescue mission. Rory Mercury offered to join us and so did Inigo."

Itami thought it was weird for a native and stranger to want to join a group of foreign soldiers in a rescue mission. So he had to ask the obvious: "Why?"

"You see, my liege, King Duran of Elbe Kingdom, is in the middle of negotiating an alliance and trade agreement with General Hazama. He says that what he can do is not permanent and that we should wait for a delegation from your world to ratify it. Until then, because I was too bored, because my king wanted to help you in sign of good faith, I will tag along. And you could use someone who knows about every warrior group on the continent, don't you?"

"Indeed. Anyone has any idea when the delegation will make an appearance?" Itami asked.

"We don't know. Might take them a month or more. Princess Pina has a lot of work to do before they can be of any help here. Only Sugawara will come early through the gate. His job is to prepare the terrain for the rest." Kurokawa answered.

"I see. Say, can you all meet me here by 2100 hours? Every member of RCT3. I want to talk to everyone." Itami asked.

"Sure thing." his comrades said and left. Only Rory remained with Itami and Erwin with his tank and crew. The Germans were busy talking and laughing among themselves. Itami sat again under the same tree and Rory next to him.

Rory: "You know, Youji… I'm glad that you are doing well. Not harmed physically by the recent battles you took part in."

Itami: "Hehe! Don't worry about me, Rory." he said as he pat her on her shoulder. "I am not that easy to kill. Besides… there is a lot to do before I die. And so many manga and novels to read."

Rory: "You always think about how to slack off, don't you?"

Itami: "It is my goal, after all… Say… how are Tuka and Lelei doing?"

Rory: "Tuka is working at the newly built Japanese shop at Alnus. Lelei is busy with learning magic from her master, Cato. Alnus will grow into a trading settlement pretty soon. What I've seen on sale in those shops will attract many merchants."

Itami: "And you, Rory? How are you doing? And why are you here, why do you want to join us in the mission?"

Rory: "For your first question, I am doing really well now. For the second, I will answer when everyone is here. Besides, you should have the answer in those papers Tomita gave you."

Itami: "Don't you know I am too lazy to read them?"

The two continued to chat and laugh together until the Sun gave in for the Moon. Soon, every member of RCT3 was gathered around a campfire. They formed a semicircle facing Itami and Rory. The embers were taking up flight for the skies under the sounds of the cracking wood when set on fire.

Itami: "Thank you for being able to join me tonight. As you all know, Lt Alistair, one of the British members of RCT3 went missing. According to what command told us, he is somewhere up north in a faraway place. His last known location is the town of Fel… kren?"

Rory: "Fel'kren. It means _'winter's break'_ in the northerner's language."

Itami: "As Rory said! General Hazama gave me permission to mount up a rescue mission for him. While you may ask yourselves why not just send an helicopter or something, that is because he is too far away. Also, we will meet new people and kind of do our original job. Think of RCT3's initial job of scouting and establishing friendly first contacts with the natives as a side quest to the main quest – find and bring back our comrade.

After Rory tells you what she has, I want you to think a bit about it and give me an answer: do you want to join me or not? Rory." Itami said and gestured towards the little loli apostle to speak.

Rory: "You should all know what we are most likely to come in contact with. Your friend is fighting off Hardy's abominations. She can create these creatures out of magic and have them act as her servants. And as far as I know, for the past month she was up to no good. Entire villages were massacred by her demons. We might be venturing into a den of extremely poisonous vipers. What she did to the town of Fel'kren and its surroundings was a mere child's play for her. And it is not like I entirely know her reasons for doing this to try and stop her.

We might come in contact with creatures very hostile and bent on killing humans. What you may have heard about her minions' strength thus far, they are nothing that hard to deal with by soldiers the likes of you. I've been at odds with Hardy and Giselle, her apostle, quite a few times now. But her winged demons are not to be trifled with. Nor her more powerful demons.

I wanted to tell you that this won't be an easy journey. There exists the possibility of losing your lives if we get in big trouble. I will join you since I know the most about Hardy and her servants and because I want to protect you." and threw a glance at Itami with a little smile in the corners of her mouth.

Inigo: "And I pledge you my blade!"

"You won't have all the fun only the three of you." Kurata said.

"You could use a medic too." Kurokawa Mari said.

"And some armor support. _Hussar Three_ and her crew is ready to move out." Erwin stated. It looked like his crew thought about this beforehand and decided to go with the rescue party.

"Well, somebody has to remind you to be serious, lieutenant. And extra muscles won't be a problem. Sign me up!" Kuribayashi stated with a grin on her face to which Itami cringed a bit.

"The British soldiers won't back up either. Not for anything! We're coming." Sgt Jackson spoke for him, Lewis and Carter.

Sgt Kuwahara looked over his shoulder to the rest of RCT3. "Anyone wants to stay behind, boys?" he asked.

"No, sir!" came a unison reply.

"Good! I thought so." Pops said with a smile. He then turned to Itami. "Lt Itami, RCT3 is all in."

Itami smiled. "Thank you all. I will get the next morning in touch with Gen Hazama and see what he can give us. We will obviously have Erwin's glorious tank. The LAV, the Type 73 light truck and I will ask for two more vehicles. Probably a Humvee and a Kohkidohsha high mobility vehicle to carry our supplies and stuff."

Erwin: "I'll go ahead and take a balanced load of canister rounds, high explosive antitank and some fin stabilized discarding sabot rounds for heavily armored targets. Will come in handy in case we run into damn dragons again." ( **AN:** Yes, now I adopted the HEAT unlike the HE I was used to in the previous chapters. Was getting on me nerves thinking about the ammo choice for the Leopard 2)

Itami: "Alright! Thank you all for coming here and clearing this out. Dismissed!"

* * *

 **Unknown**

 _Meanwhile_

Alistair woke up in a dark place. He could only feel the stone floor beneath him. It was cold. He helped himself stand up and had a look around. He found himself once more in a strange realm like when he died at Giselle's hands.

"Great… Bloody great…" he muttered. He looked at his hands, he took the gloves off and looked at his skin. They were just like he knew them – normal hands of a soldier battered by conflict and time. He sat down and took off his black helmet borrowed from one of his dead guards who were escorting him to Alnus from Italica but lost their lives after the teleportation spell.

"What are you doing?" a voice asked. It was the same as his voice, just harder and louder. Alistair looked up and saw a humanly figure burning in dark flames. It made a gesture with his fiery hand and an image appeared, developing before their eyes like a short clip.

"Wondering what the bloody hell is going on with me…" Alistair replied with a questioning tone.

"You died and have returned into mortal existence thanks to me."

"Who are you?"

"Hmm? Who am I? I am many things and many people… I am the ever burning fire of death, the taker of life, the tool of the oppressor and the shield of the defender. I am the result of the mortal kinds of man, orc, elf, dwarf and beast races."

"You're speaking like Mack would."

"Many poets and philosophers took up arms and died. Your compatriot was no exception. He represented the tragedy of the dreamer in this simple and irritating existence. Few were those who managed to get by and did well in the end. He just took the easy path out. Not the most patient lad."

"How do you know him?"

"He had his fair share of contribution to my existence… Take a look at this." the figure gestured with his hand. Alistair turned around a bit to see what he wanted to show him. He saw through the eyes of someone. Several soldiers in desert camo were walking on a desert-like road and held L85A2 rifles in their hands. Alistair's eyes went wide as bowls when he realized what he was watching.

"No, no, no! Stop! Don't make another step!" he shouted before an explosion threw him on his back, ears ringing. "FUCK! Why did you show me this!?"

"This is how your friend died in Afghanistan, right? Improvised explosive device is that you call the thing that killed him. I want to show you what you are now. This is why I am showing you this. Let us move on."

The next image was again in desert, but this time in Iraq from the time when he was fighting ISIS militants and training Iraqi troops. He was dug in a trench with other Iraqi regulars at the outskirts of a town. It looked like they were making ready for an assault.

" _Wait for my order!"_ the younger Alistair from the flashback shouted. He looked left and right. _"Now! Go! Go! Go!"_ he ordered and jumped outside, the others following close behind. The two were watching what Alistair saw in those moments.

They closed in the distance to the first houses before all hell broke loose. They were taking fire and, despite the inaccuracy of the jihadists, some bullets were finding their marks and soldiers were dropping to the ground.

" _Get in the damn alleyways and secure every house!"_

They then watched as Alistair burst into a house through a window, glass shattered on the floor all around him. He then rushed to a window on the opposite side and looked outside. He saw with horror a lot of women lined up on the ground, hands and legs tied and a T-55 parked on the road, ready to run them over.

He listened with the little Arabic he knew to what one of them said. _"Your husbands have all been punished for undermining our holy crusade of instituting Sharia Law and punishing the infidels. And you will suffer the same fate as them for not helping our soldiers – death!"_

" _You damn bastards! You are just murderers and rapists! You shame the A-"_ and a gunshot cuts the woman short. Gunfire nearby from the Iraqi regular troops took out some jihadists but they had no means to take out the tank which accelerated and crushed the civilians under it and the flashback faded.

Alistair said slowly to the flaming figure: "Damn bastards!" he clenched his fists and was letting out angry roars synchronized with his breathing. "Bloody bastards!"

"Your anger is justified." And then he showed him Alia's face as he has seen her the first time in that forest when the winged demons attacked them. "Yet you keep feeling for someone who would give them a second chance…"

"She is not me. She is a better human."

"Better means dead in this regard. She will give someone a second chance and then she will get stabbed in the back. I've been in this existence way longer than anyone you know or she knows. And I can tell you that she's lucky to make it this far in life, in her line of work…

And yet you chose to ignore the peace of death and let rage consume you. Thus, Emroy granted you my help. We are now two beings sharing the same body. I can't say that I know why Emroy didn't accept you in his domain as the God of War in this realm… but my bet is that he finds you very entertaining considering the circumstances of you meeting this warrior of the Frost, Hardy's insanity and the ongoing hostilities between the Empire and your world.

Not to forget that many things have yet to happen. You are not at the end of your journey. You and your friends still have a lot to go through. Yours will be an adventure through lands foreign and through death and life. As backward as this world may seem to the one you are used to, you will find it much more interesting."

"What will happen?" the British asked. He could make out a wicked smile on that ghostly fiery apparition's face.

"Where is the fun if I tell you? I will only take over for you when you give in to me. And I hope we will learn to get along together. For it would be annoying not to learn how to share everything in the long journey ahead. I can only say this to you – Rory and her friends… and your friends at the same time are on their way to find you; you will face the supernatural, beasts… and when everything is done in this world… giants will wake you from your sleep and the two of us will have to rise again."

Alistair stared at him dumbfounded. He then held his thumb and index finger on his nose in frustration. "Damn this whole thing to hell… I wish I could understand everything you said."

"Now rest. I'll send you back to your conscience. That girl is waiting for you to wake up. Beware that days have passed while we spoke here. Time has a different meaning between this ethereal domain of existence and the material one of the mortals."

"Anything else I should be careful with or I should know..?"

"We will meet again. Your fastest link to me is what you felt when the apostle of Hardy said and did to your dear companion. I am wondering if you feel for her more out of pity and because of all you've been through and seen or if it is more than that…

Remember that I will always be there, behind the mask of you and of your body. I will always burn under your skin and flesh. I am your skin and flesh and you are my dark fires. Whenever you will glance behind… I will be there, behind the mask of Father and Son. Reality, the truth. Darkness is always there. I am always there. Agh, too many poet soldiers died and I tend to sound like them, don't I? I will forever burn. Now… go back. Until the next time.

Farewell, lieutenant Alistair."

* * *

 **Hardy's Realm**

 _Meanwhile_

Giselle was lying on her back in a bed. Her wounds healed by her mistress and goddess. She found the place familiar but she knows she hasn't been here in a long time. Hardy's temple from her own domain. The goddess walked inside. Giselle stood up slowly.

"I apologize for my failure, mistress. I was too arrogant and got beaten. I thank you for saving me, although I am not worthy of this honor from you." Giselle spoke apologetically.

"It was nothing you could do before that monster, Giselle. Don't apologize. That human has more to him than we initially thought. Ever since Emroy switched places for his vehicle and Rory's in the last moment when I wanted to teleport her here… Emroy knows something about this man."

"What does he have so special to him?"

"No god knows everything. We are gods due to our ascension and status among higher beings. But we are not all knowing. He was a pain in the ass since he found that woman of the Frost and together managed to shift the tides. I had a little window of opportunity before the others would have put a stop to my plans. But they are not done yet!

I managed to harvest many souls. They are delicious, you know? The pure fear displayed by mortal sentient beings when they are face to face with my winged servants… I wanted to give all those souls to Rory on our wedding day. But instead I've got this troublemaker on my hands."

"I will dispense of him for you." Giselle offered for the job.

"You are weak now. Rest and while you stay in my domain I will make you stronger. Strong enough to dispense of him."

"Where did he get all that strange power?"

"Emroy has something to do with this yet again. And I wager every other god. They allowed the _'Fires of Neverthere'_ to manifest, as I call it. And they were adopted by this foreigner called Alistair…"

"What are those fires you speak of, mistress?"

"Ah… I don't know how to put this. I don't know the details either. It is where the soul of every soldier goes and meets with others. It was initially one soul and he is the dominant one, the others just add to him. Nobody knows how this came to be, the details are unknown. It just was there… it simply was. And he waited and waited and waited. And from age to age, one mortal would be chosen by this entity to be his vessel into the material world when times are too interesting for him to just stay put.

It might not have happened here but it happened on other worlds. It is the first time it appeared in the world we have under our sphere of influence. And what intrigues me is his choice. The world where this man comes from lacks magic. It is like an entirely different domain of existence. I feel no magic and I can't sense the presence of any god on the other side of the gate. It is strange.

Maybe that's why he was chosen, because he is a foreigner and a soldier at that. But don't get me wrong, who dies here remains here. Dead soldiers go to Emroy and to the _Fires_. Did I answer your question?"

"Uhm… I think so…"

"Rest now and become stronger, Giselle. You will have to tend to the Fire Dragon and its children in due time. Until then… I'll prepare my servants to utterly destroy those pesky humans who stay between me and Rory! The Empire might just be of some good… was it Zorzal the eldest brother and most likely heir to the throne?"

"Yes."

Hardy now smiled and laughed thinking of how her plots will unfold.

* * *

 **AN:** Well, there is Chapter 27. I put some foreshadowing here and I am already setting the elements for the sequel of my story. Please leave your thoughts in the reviews :D I will try to burn fast through the diplomacy part of the story and focus on the higher more important plot.


	28. Ch 28 - Poles Apart

**AN:** Thank you all for sticking with me and I apologize for the long wait. I had midterms the past week and a half. Now that I am done with them, I have a window of free time. Enjoy the latest chapter!

 **the renegade soldier:** If the fantasy could bring everyone and everything together under a common cause they could really wreck faces against modern military. But I still believe that after a war the Earth militaries will prevail (well, not some poor army but a decent one). Science gives you a broader understanding of the world and an edge in technology which can it farther away. Though an OP mage could cast a spell and unlash land slides, earthquakes or other disasters…

 **The Tundra Fox:** Thanks! I'll have another one like that ready but for other things (i.e. documentary about the natives of the Special Region made by the second team of reporters). As for religion, think of it as gods who love to interfere with the mortals and things like that. But there are also things beyond them. Like Alistair's newly acquired powers. He was given access to it by Emroy and the other gods with the exception of Hardy. And Hardy just went nuts crazy in my story because she would do anything to marry Rory and now she is pissed off on Alistair and the JSDF and will resort to schemes and plots before she can unleash her minions again. She's like …rebuilding now after the other gods said "Now hold on a minute, you can't go on and rampage around here like that. Take a break."

 **Junior VB:** Man, I would really appreciate if you could tell me a bit more than just two or three words in which you synthesize the whole chapter. Gimme' your thoughts :D

 **recordman:** Yep, you are right and I know that but I had to go through that one. The thing is, here the lawyers won't have almost anything to gain. The man just stated his thoughts. But in reality lawyers are asses and scumbags for the most part of the time. I think I'll address that part too.

 **Leacher101:** Thanks! And yes, I meant 'peace'. Small mistakes are bound to pass by unnoticed sometimes. You'll find more of them in the future. Thanks for your support.

 **Slyr3x:** Copy that! I honestly don't know why I do that. Fluctuate between styles. Hope I've got it from now on.

 **It'sCalibra:** Thanks man! Sorry for the wait. Enjoy the latest chapter!

* * *

 **Chapter 28: Poles Apart**

* * *

 _'Entry XIII:_

 _The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it.'_

* * *

 **Sadera, Imperial Army High Command**

 _D-Day + 50 days_

Adranos was sitting in a sturdy chair at a large table with the map of the Empire on it. He was in his white and red robes like any other senator but the red was the color of the Empire's military, a color he wears with pride. A young soldier passed the old general some papers. His white hair seemed to take an even whiter tone when he read the content of the documents.

Adranos was resting his jawbone in his left palm and the papers in his right hand. Very curious, the young soldier who seemed to be his adjutant, asked him: "Lord Adranos, what has you so concerned?"

The old man just threw him a glance before sighing and starting to read again the content of the papers. A full minute passed before he spoke. "I don't know what to make of this anymore…"

"What happened? News from the front lines?" the lad asked.

"Tell me, did these messages arrive here via messenger pigeon?" Adranos asked him.

"Yes, my lord."

"Cancel every single shipment of supplies towards the Duma lines. Order every batch of fresh troops stationed in the nearby military camps. Halt every shipment of armor, bows, swords, spears, shields, arrows… everything." Adranos spoke with a grave tone.

"If I may ask… what happened that you deem these measures necessary?"

"Titus and Tasius have been defeated. They held out as best they could. Tasius was taken prisoner after falling into an enemy ambush. Titus informally surrendered himself and his troops… my troops better said, since he lost his legion at Alnus. The 7th Legion _Legacy of Godasen_ has been scattered. Some are retreating towards east and are making their way home. Some have surrendered to the enemy. 15,000 dead on our side. And the two have sworn to aid Princess Pina in her quest for peace between us and the invaders. They are prisoners of war while they are not. I don't understand this…

Then there is the fact that the enemy has pushed past the Duma Mountains and established a fortified camp on the eastern side. They could strike the capital at any moment."

Adranos' aid was left stunned. The Empire's two best generals alive have surrendered and the princess is mediating a peace without the consensus of the Senate and of the emperor? A situation without precedent in the history of this hegemonic state. He gathered himself and asked the obvious. "How will we break the news to the Senate, to the Emperor and to the other key figures within the Army?"

Adranos raised up from his seat with the small papers in hand. "I don't know how. To be honest… I… I was not expecting to win this war. If the rumors about the enemy's power are true, then we may have been fighting only a delaying battle. The peace faction of the senators will use this information to their full extend while the war faction will brand Titus, Tasius and even Pina as traitors. The Emperor might keep a cool demeanor and think things through. Diabo …good lad but he is playing the game of power and wants to be named the crown prince. Zorzal is just a stupid, arrogant and selfish spoiled brat. He's more concerned about whoring his way through life with sex slaves." Adranos spoke bitterly.

The aid was dumbfounded at his superior's bluntness. "My lord, this is worthy of severe, even capital punishment."

"What is?"

"What you just said. You should avoid speaking so open in front of other people who might turn you in."

"Nothing I didn't know already. You have a job to do. Dispatch the orders. We might still get out of this mess. I'll go and deal with the politics of it." He said and left the room.

* * *

 **Sadera, Zorzal's mansion**

 _Meanwhile_

The oldest heir to the throne of the Empire, Prince Zorzal El Caesar, was having again a good time with Tyuule, the queen of several Warrior Bunny tribes.

"Scream harder!" he kept commanding her.

Tyuule was older than Zorzal by roughly 10 years, placing her in her mid 30s. _'Why?'_ she asked herself every time she thought of her situation. _'From a proud leader of a proud people to a slave of the world's most spoiled royal brat who subjugated my folk.'_

After satisfying Zorzal, Tyuule fell off the bed on the cold marble floor. Zorzal looked down at her. "You have to do better if you know what's good for your folk."

He then turned his attention to one of the men he always spent time with, one of his spoiled friends who originates from a rich family in the capital, just like his entire entourage. The Prince wanted to order him something but the sound of the doors opening got the best of him. A bald man walked inside, dressed in nobility summer clothing. He wasn't tall, maybe a bit shorter than average.

Zorzal smiled. "What brings you here, Minister Marcus?" he inquired.

The man bowed curtly before speaking. "Your Highness, I apologize if I'm interrupting, but…"

"But what? No matter. I was done with her anyway. I wanted to try again one of the women brought through the gate."

Marcus looked a bit worried. "Prince, you should take it easy with such habits. It could stain your name should you have a bastard child with someone of low birth, a slave one at that too. Or with someone who is not a human."

Zorzal frowned at his remark. "Marcus, you know too well that I don't discriminate. And what if Tyuule remains pregnant? She is a queen after all. One in shackles but a queen nonetheless. She would gladly bear my child." he said and kicked her in her shoulder.

Tyuule thought to herself _'I'd better cut my own throat than birth you a child.'_

Zorzal continued with his dialogue. "Maybe I'll let you too have some fun with her."

"I will refuse that offer, Prince." Marcus fired back. He found Tyuule very attractive just like any other Warrior Bunny female.

"So, Minister Marcus… what do you want to tell me?" Zorzal asked with a serious tone.

The bald man cleared his throat for a moment. "I bring news regarding the war with the otherworldly armies as you ordered me, Highness. General Tasius has been defeated in the field. A group of soldiers have just arrived in the capital. They report defeat in the Duma Mountains and the capture of the commander. Many have surrendered to the enemy while others are in a disorderly retreat towards the capital."

"Hmpf… So we are losing?"

"We were already losing…"

"We can't lose. I will show them bastards what war means and bring victory!" Zorzal said and gathered his fingers into two fists.

"We should not r-" Marcus wanted to say something before Zorzal rudely interfered and asked him: "Who else knows about this?"

"Probably Adranos. And soon… probably everyone. Retreating soldiers tend to spread the news around."

"Thank you, Minister Marcus. If you don't want a woman to relax then I suggest you leave me. Bring in that Noriko girl! Take Tyuule back into her cell!" Zorzal ordered to his friends.

In the shadows of the large room, a pair of eyes was watching Zorzal and company with a lot of satisfaction. _'He will be excellent.'_

* * *

 **Sadera, inside the Senate building**

 _D-Day + 50 days, afternoon_

"Casel, thank you for being able to see me so soon."

"It seemed very important. What is it, Adranos?"

The two were talking in private in a separate room within the Senate. Somewhere away from unwelcomed eyes and ears.

"Because it is very important. I just learned about it hours ago and had a bit of work to do before I could speak about it." Adranos said and took a seat to rest his old legs.

Casel used a stone table as a means to lean on it. "Well..?"

"We lost the Dumas. The enemy breached through and has already established a base on this side of the mountain range from where they will be able to launch attacks on the port cities such as Proptor on the shores of the Blue Sea and the capital itself."

"So, Sadera, the beating heart of the Empire, is in throwing range of the enemy armies?" Casel asked.

"That is a way of saying it." Adranos admitted.

"How did Titus and Tasius fail? They are the best military minds we have as far as I know."

"Titus attempted a flanking maneuver and he was intercepted by enemy forces. Several days of fighting ensued. The same can be said about Tasius who tried to defend the pass through the Dumas. He was pretty successful at first but he was captured and taken prisoner. Without his leadership… the rest fell." Adranos explained. "But… now comes the best part."

Casel raised an eyebrow. "Best part?" he asked with half voice.

Adranos smiled unknowingly before answering Casel. "You are the leader of the Senate, Casel. You are also part of the peace faction. The information I will pass you must not fall on wrong ears. Do you understand me? Should the fools within the leadership get any ideas, the entire realm will be thrown into turmoil."

"Just say it already! You know me better than that, Adranos." Casel assured him.

"Titus surrendered with the entire surviving 6th Legion. He and Tasius are safe. They are working with Princess Pina who wants to persuade the Senate to sue for peace. Right now, they are waiting for the storm to pass. Then, she and Titus will return to Sadera and start laying the foundation for the peace talks. You might want to meet them when they are here. Tasius will stay back until things are favorable for the doves. I didn't share this information with many. Just a few people who I know I can trust."

"Why?" Casel asked.

"Because Tasius is known to have been captured. He will return when they apparently release prisoners of war. The people believe Titus to be free and well… just like Pina. For all they know, she is somewhere out there gathering information on the invaders."

"What about her knights? The Rose Order of Knights? Rumors have it that they are prisoners too. One boy who was recruited by Pina arrived in the capital a while ago and I had to take him under my supervision and protection. The information he had was too useful to the doves to be revealed without some preparation on our behalf."

"I know, I know. The knights are stationed at Italica for the moment. They'll all come back soon." Adranos said and stood up. He slowly makes his way towards the door. "Put the information I gave you to good use, Casel." he said before reaching the door frame and going into the hallway.

* * *

 **1** **st** **EAA HQ**

 _D-Day + 50 days_

 **DIETRICH'S POV**

Not that I don't appreciate the promotion to Brigadier General… but I miss the days when I used to get more sleep. The military operations took a heavy toll on me. Thank God that I got 10 hours of good sleep after this mess settled…

Now that the battle is over and we have secured a route from where we'll be able to strike in the Empire's heartland, we only have to deal with Pina and these two generals. Gott verdamt! Politics, the bane of any soldier.

"General Dietrich..?" Pina said. I turned to her, breaking from my thoughts. "Yes, Princess?" I asked.

"Uhm... nothing in particular. Is just that you were staring into nothing for a while now and got me concerned."

"Worry not. I was just thinking about the things to come." I assured her. She is so young and beautiful for a royal military commander… she might pass as an actress back home. Or a medieval armor and weapons nerd.

"Then let us see to them." Titus said, bringing to our attention what we had gathered to talk about.

"First, what can we expect from the senators, military leaders and …ultimately, the emperor?" I asked.

"The other generals are dumb idiots." Titus swiftly said. "They still believe the Imperial Army is fighting a war just like any other. And I bet they are recruiting around the clock."

"Titus is right. The military leadership is used to continuously winning wars. Most generals and legates are too rigid in their way of conducting warfare. They are not as flexible as me and Titus would like them to be." Tasius added.

Pina smiled. "Don't worry, General. We hold you two in high regards."

"Princess, is not like I am praising us. It is common sense for a commanding officer of such a high rank to be able to adapt to different situations. Their last major campaign was against the Warrior Bunny tribes under Tyuule's banner." Tasius cleared himself of accusations.

"And that was a Gods useless bloodbath started by your stupid brother, Princess." Titus said with an angry voice.

Pina bit her lip. "While I don't think to good about my brother, General Titus, I would like you to refrain yourself from speaking so openly and with hostility about him. He is still my brother and an heir to the throne."

I respect this girl. She has the traits of a good leader. She just lacks experience.

Curious as I was, I asked the obvious. "Who is your brother and what did he do?"

Titus held his arms crossed in front of his chest, barely holding some more bad words about Pina's brother. She didn't want to speak about it either. It was Tasius who cleared things for me.

"Ehm… Prince Zorzal is not held in high regards by General Titus here. I'm sorry Princess Pina, but I share his opinion. He is the one most likely to be named as the crown prince. Truth is, two years ago he started a campaign against a union of Warrior Bunny tribes under the leadership of Queen Tyuule. He personally oversaw the campaign and the destruction and enslavement of her people."

I felt anger in my chest rushing up to my mouth. "Enslavement..?"

Tasius nodded as he continued to explain. "Yes. The Warrior Bunnies are mostly females and they are very attractive. But they are fierce warriors at the same time. They fought hard and they fought well. Yet it wasn't enough and they fell in front of the disciplined ranks of the Army. Those who were not killed in battle were either enslaved or went into hiding or sought refuge somewhere. Prince Zorzal has taken Tyuule as a sex slave."

Sex slave!? The oldest brother of the royal family has sex slaves? I swear I wanted to punch somebody hard in the face. And they saw me tensing. Not too professional of me but who wouldn't be angry to hear this?

"And I guess he got away with it."

"Yes…"

And he gets away with such things… I looked Pina in her ruby eyes. "Princess Pina, don't let him come close to me or me close to him. Because if that happens… I will take him and throw him in jail until he will be trialed and punished for crimes against humanity."

Pina was obviously shocked to hear this. She wanted to retort with a weak argument. "But they are not humans, they are W-"

"DOESN'T MATTER! Every God damn sentient being has the same rights as mankind does! I know your people here love to pretend they are civilized but they are nothing more than a barbaric and tyrannical barbarian scum to allow such things to go unpunished! How dares he keep concubines like that? And trust me, concubine is a lot because I don't want to call the poor woman a slave used for his desires."

Pina looked to the two generals. She hoped to find support in them but they seemed to agree with Dietrich. Titus spoke breaking the awkward silence.

"He's got a good point. The way the Empire pretends to be the most civilized while practicing such things… I never agreed with this."

"Kind words from someone who is known to regularly pay visits to the slave market in the capital, General Titus." Pina accused him.

"The difference is that I never treat them like slaves. They are always free to leave, they have good living conditions and I even pay them when my family sells the fruits of a yearly work. Thus, they can get on their own feet and leave the capital any time." the general spoke. Pina narrowed her eyes at him. "Point is, Princess, I am a more moral person than your everyday noble. I come from a common family and I know how hard it is to live in the Empire's lower society. I can't change things over night and abolish slavery but I can help some unfortunate souls."

Titus really is the kind of man who doesn't eat shit from anybody and a good person too. He totally put Pina on the defense. While her knights said she doesn't hold slaves because she dislikes the idea… Well… I still can't their word for it.

"Princess, I understand that you feel a brotherly love towards Prince Zorzal but you shouldn't let emotions cloud your judgment. Shall we return to the matter at hand? What can we expect to transpire in Sadera?" I said.

Tasius cleared his throat before speaking. "I've sent word to Lord Adranos." I raised an eyebrow to that. "He's our friend in the capital." He cleared it for me, noticing I was unaware the man's identity. "Former general of the 6th Legion and now a senator. He passed command to Titus here to have men to fight. Titus' 11th Legion _Lionheart_ was destroyed in battle at Alnus.

He's the one who kept supplies flowing to me and Titus and reinforcements. He surely ordered everyone to stand own if he got my message. And he should be working with Casel and the other doves to promote peace negotiations among the senators."

Doves? Guess they are the ones who are calling for peace. "I take it the opinions are split."

"Yes. There are a few who want peace, the leader of the Senate, Casel, included. The majority want to continue the hostilities. They believe that the Empire will win this war eventually and overcome the situation like several times in its history."

"Thankfully we are not as barbaric as to what you are used to." I had to point out.

Tasius kind of thanked me with a slim bow of his head and spoke again. "We should give Adranos time to get the doves ready who they, in turn, will put things in motion too. Then, after the dust settles a bit, Princess Pina and General Titus will return to Sadera and do their best to persuade the war mongering faction to sue for peace. If we get more than half of the Senate on the doves' side then we can put an end to this stupid fighting."

Why is Tasius not going too? "General Tasius, why are you not going with them?"

"Ah well… you see, I told Adranos that I was captured and held prisoner. That is what everyone thinks of me. But I also told him the truth. I will be considered prisoner of war. Me and my men. Princess Pina will, apparently, meet Titus when the two are making their way to Sadera. Titus after a defeat and Princess Pina after a …successful scouting mission."

"Half of my knights will stay at Italica. The other half will be coming with me to Sadera. When will your diplomats arrive, General Dietrich?" she asked me.

Time to shine and answer them. "There's a guy, Sugawara Koji. He will be the first to come and talk to the senators, help you get them on your side. He won't be coming with you. He'll arrive later on. General Hazama is preparing an operation right now. We'll basically infiltrate the capital in a district called Akusho and set up a small base there. Will come in handy if things take a turn for the worse. The main diplomat corps will come when it is time for the real negotiations. I'm sure you already spoke to Sugawara and Shirayuri, Princess."

"Yes, I did. I also have a list with the names of every prisoner held on the other side of the gate. The senators' sons will make for a fine bargaining chip." Pina said with a smile as she waved a small book in her left hand.

Tasius wasn't done talking. "We should be wary of the others who might actively oppose us in our quest for peace." He warned.

"Alright then. It is settled. Should you need anything, just come to me. I'll be off to write and send a report to Hazama."

 **END OF POV**

* * *

 **Special Region, Fel'kren temple**

 _Meanwhile_

Alistair slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was the stone ceiling of the temple and felt the warm air accompanied by the sounds of wood cracking in fire under a medieval style chimney.

He wanted to get up and look around but he fell something on his torso. It was Alia in her casual clothing sleeping on him. Her head and hands, at least. He put his hand on her dark blue hair and took the strands of hair off her face before slowly waking her up.

She opened her eyes and slowly stretched. "Thought you never wake up again." she said with a lazy voice.

"Better that than let… good people die." he replied. "How are you? How's your …arm?" he asked as he got up on his butt.

"Much better." she says and reveals her bandages on the right arm, from elbow to shoulder. "The priest healed me but I'm still recovering. Got a nasty scar instead. So… care to explain?"

"Explain what?"

"How everything happened. And how that blade got there." Alia says and points to Alistair's left side. There was a katana longer and a bit wider than Alia's. And it was held in a sheath of a similar color. Its hilt had a sort of extravagant feel to it. Nicely decorated in blue diamonds set up in a two parallel rows, from the hand guard to the bottom of the hilt from where a blue fabric was sticking out of it. It had the same shade of blue as Alia's hair.

Alistair looked at it. He took it in his hands and drew the blade out. The katana was black. He could perfectly wield it with one hand. _"It is your weapon of choice, soldier. You chose it and it bears resemblance to the one you drew that blade for in the first place."_ a voice spoke in his mind. It unnerved him a bit. He looked at Alia. She was staring at the blade too casually to have heard the voice. No, it was just he who was hearing it. _"I taught you how to use it while you were asleep in this world. Trust me, use it when the need comes and it won't let you down."_

"I… I don't think I know for sure."

"Al… how the hell did you do it? I saw you die… How?" Alia kept asking. Her eyes were watering. "Not that I am not happy to see you back… but how? Things like that don't happen too often."

The British lieutenant looked at her. "I… I don't know. I know that I was really pissed off and somebody spoke to me… and a dark flame was given to me and I accepted it and the next thing I know is more anger and rage because of that… Giselle… That was her name, right? By the way, how did you call me?"

"Eh… Al. Your full name is Alistair. Now that I think of it, what is your other name?"

He put his left palm on his face, like suppressing a headache. "Other name..? Alistair… yes, sounds familiar. But I have no memory of any other name. Who am I? How did I forget my other name? I remember Itami, the army… Mack… my former and actual comrades. But I feel like I've lost a part of myself."

She hugged him. "You just came back from the dead! You must have lost a part of yourself there…"

Then he remembered something. "Where is my bag? Is Mack's notebook still there?"

"Yes. The bag and everything you had is over there. But your… rifle was shattered. You only got your pistol left."

"Bloody hell…" he cursed slowly. Then looked directly in Alia's eyes. "Girl… we should leave and get the help we initially wanted to get before those two lunatics try playing another round of 'Heroes & Generals' with us and everyone else ends up dead. By the way, where am I? Where are we?"

"The temple of Fel'kren."

"Right, right… Can you walk?"

"I can but can you?"

"Worry not. I've never felt more alive than now, I think…"

* * *

 **AN:** Hello everyone and thanks for reading! Please leave your opinions in the reviews or PMs on this chapter too :D the next chapter might take a lot less to be posted. As I said, had midterms to go through before I could attend my story.


	29. Ch 29 - On The Turning Away

**AN:** Hello and welcome to the latest chapter. This one's longer because I added more background to the fantasy world of the Special Region and I kind of dragged on with it… But it is still decent. Hope you'll enjoy it. Answer to reviews at the end for this chapter. And yes, this title too, like many others, is taken from a song. Not necessarily because the song is relevant for the chapter but because the title fits great with (emphasizes) the chapter. Pink Floyd has nothing to do with the horrors to follow. Btw, not a lot of proof reading invested here. I just read every part after writing it. Enjoy it!

* * *

 **Chapter 29: On The Turning Away**

* * *

 _'Entry XIV:_

 _This world gives birth to despair, a despair most people don't even know they are experiencing.'_

* * *

 **Special Region, northern side of the Romaria Mountains**

 _D-Day + 51 days, 1630 hours_

After one day since they were sent to retrieve the British lieutenant and explore more of the Special Region at the same time, RCT3 barely made it past the Romaria Mountains. The crossing of the mountain range was a gamble since the pass they chose could have proven unwelcoming to their vehicles. They were lucky, the pass was able to accommodate their cars, LAV and the Leopard 2 with ease, with no danger of the ground giving in under the tonnage and collapsing into a ravine or a landslide or avalanche of rocks blocking the road ahead.

What intrigued Itami was the fact that they found traces of an army. They all concluded that it must have been Titus' troops when they deployed on the front lines. They left behind many wooden boats or improvised rafts. They littered the banks of the Row stream. They still had to cross the Row before setting up camp. And they had no bridging equipment with them.

The eastern side was blocked by mountain cliffs. They went west and were lucky enough to find a wooden bridge. It looked solid enough for the small vehicles but the tank would crush it if it attempted to pass over it.

Itami's voice cracked on radio. "Alright, I think we can cross the Row here. Erwin, do you have by any chance what you need to cross the water by going straight through it? I doubt the bridge will hold under your weight."

"I think we can make it. Looks shallow enough in this area. Go ahead. Get on the other side of the bridge. _Hussar Three_ will be with you shortly." Erwin replied.

"Alright, Erwin. LAV will go first and the rest will follow. One vehicle at a time. I don't want to risk it." Itami said. Slowly, they crossed the bridge, one at a time. They used the tank as an anchor and tied a rope to every vehicle when it passed. Should the bridge fail, the car would not be taken by the currents and the team could retrieve it with ease. Meanwhile, Erwin, Fritz and Franz were busy preparing the tank for a river crossing the hard way.

Once everyone but the tankers and their graceful machine found themselves on the other side of the Row, they disembarked their vehicles and started setting up camp for the night.

Inigo and Rory were wondering why it was taking Erwin so long to get to them. Inigo voiced their curiosity. "What are they doing over there?"

Tomita walked to them and answered the indigo-blue furred wolf man's question. "They are making sure the tank won't take water."

"Why don't they just use the damn bridge already? It bores me to wait for them…" Rory complained like a child.

"There is no such thing as time to get bored when you literally have nothing to do. There is only time to relax." Itami spoke from behind them. "The bridge would collapse under the tank's weight. They'll just get the old fashioned way across."

Inigo was contemplating. "Will they just go through the water? They'll drown …"

This earned him a few chuckles. Then, the tank's engine roared and propelled the 60 tons of German engineering forward. The gun was elevated at maximum. The tank slowly dived into the water and looked like the Row swallowed them whole if not for the cannon sticking out of the water and just a few centimeters of the turret top. Shortly, the tank emerged from the water and came to a halt in front of them.

"Amazing… you people have a lot to show off." Inigo said, his eyes locked on the soaked tank. Erwin popped out of the turret and gave a thumbs up to Itami.

"You're in for a lot of surprises, Wolfy." came from Rory.

"Alright. I want everyone to form a circle around me." Itami said. He pulled out a map of the Special Region. Most of it was drawn based on the maps acquired from Italica and Duran. The only more detailed part of the map was the area where the F-4s flew over on their way to look for the four British soldiers. They took their time to take aerial photos for future maps. The problem was that they were nowhere close to the mapped 'corridor'.

Soon, the whole of RCT3 was around Itami and the map. "So, we are here" he says and points on the map an area just south of Rondel and north of Italica "and up to the north is Rondel, the city of mages. We need to get here." and his finger slides towards northeast to a dot on the map with 'Fel'kren' written over it. "Problem is… how? We still have to cross the Northern Duma Mountains to the east and make our way to this road that's just north of Sadera and west of Telta. That road takes us directly to Fel'kren."

"That road is an important one and will be guarded by the Empire's troops. It is the link between the Imperial capital and the Mountain Range of Ice and Snow." Inigo informed everyone.

"I wouldn't spare troops for checkpoints on roads when I am losing a war." Jackson added.

Inigo shook his head. "The thing is that the Empire is in a status quo with the northerners. They have resisted every attempt of conquest from the Empire. As far as I know, a legion is always stationed in Telta and they are keeping an eye on everything around there. Not that the northern provinces would bother with an invasion... but the Empire isn't taking any chances."

"I doubt they'll catch us. We're faster than them. And we have what we need to make our way through if things go south." Erwin confidently assures them.

Pops leaned over the map and pointed a spot north of Sadera, on the northern side of the Row stream and immediately west of the Northern Duma Mountains. "This here… is what I am concerned about. According to the map and to aerial photos, that area is not the best place to pass through. Dense forests. We all know what happened to our guys in the 1st EAA not long ago in a similar terrain."

"Not to forget that the Seth Lake tribes call this entire huge forest their home. I would never go against them in their favorite terrain if I can possibly help it. The Empire is known to employ them from time to time. And when they are not lending their skills in some campaign… they'll just sit back and prey on unaware folk who happen to venture into their territory." Inigo added his expertise on the locals.

Silence fell. Everybody was contemplating on what to do. "What option do we have if not this one?" Rory asked.

"We can't take the easy road through the Empire's heartland. Would put us in a world of trouble with the mobilized Imperial armed forces." Itami said remembering the instructions from HQ.

"Another option would be taking the long road around. We can follow the road near the camp and reach Rondel, keep going up till Bellnahgo and then, here, take the eastern road that'll bring us around the northern side of Seth Lake and the forest. But that will add days to our journey. The shortest is to follow the Row, keep going along its northern bank until we reach the main road. But it takes us through a dangerous area."

"Inigo's right. If we want to get there as quickly as possible we will have to take a risk." Erwin spoke.

Itami looked up from the map to his team and then back at the map. He packed it slowly and stood up. Everybody knew what he would say. "We have no choice but to take a risk. We are soldiers after all and we are in an alien world. We take the fastest route. We'll stay as close as we possibly can to the Row, that way we only have to worry about our left flank." He stretches and takes his helmet off. His voice takes a lazy tone. "Now that we're done with this… let's eat something and get some rest."

* * *

 **Sadera, Imperial Palace**

 _D-Day + 52 days_

Emperor Molt Sol Augustus was sitting on his throne in the large throne room. His blue eyes were grasping the ever usual scenery: the palace guards were on either side of the room and at the door, retinue was going about and discussing the problems and were bringing them forth to Molt's attention. There were the servants too who were constantly bringing wine for the nobility inside.

Molt refused to drink when he was attending to the administrative, diplomatic and military problems of the Empire. But he liked to have a drink in his free time. He usually finished what a modern person would consider "working schedule" in the afternoon and take the rest of the day off. But the past few weeks were nothing short of …interesting for him, for lack of a better word.

The open doors allowed Adranos to walk into the throne room. Silence settled as he slowly made his way towards the emperor. He saluted every person he was acquainted with and came to a halt a few meters from the steps leading to the throne. He bowed before Molt.

"You requested to see me, Highness?" Adranos' voice resonated.

"Yes. Lord Adranos, I have a question for you." Molt said, resting on his right elbow on the throne's handle. "What do we know about our campaign against the invaders? General Tasius and Titus took it upon themselves to repel the enemy and defend the Empire."

Adranos knew that Molt heard about the recent developments. "Your Grace, it was an unsuccessful campaign. General Tasius was taken prisoner when he was leading his men in battle and General Titus suffered a defeat. They were outmatched by the enemy's power. Right now he is retreating back to the capital with his remaining forces. The 7th Legion _Legacy of Godasen_ under Tasius' command was scattered. Many fell in battle and other were taken as prisoners. The rest are on their way to Sadera."

Molt kept a serious face, like always. "And why didn't you inform me about this up until this very moment? Why did I have to hear about it from Minister Marcus when you were the one who personally oversaw the information and supplies flux?"

"I have no excuse, my liege. I was so caught in organizing and redirecting every resource we had that I forgot to send word to you or anyone else for that matter. I am but an old soldier and I deemed it necessary to take care of the military matters first."

"So that Titus really blew it up, didn't he? So much for him…" a bald general said with a smirk on his face. It wasn't something new that many military leaders of the same faction had a rivalry going between them. Titus unwillingly made many rivals out of his fellow comrades because of his rapid ascension among the Imperial Army's ranks. Now that the role model was defeated for the first time, many saw this as an opportunity to reaffirm themselves.

"I wouldn't say that. He made his best and… pardon me, **they** did their best and held the enemy off for as long as they could. The enemy's magic was more powerful than we thought." Adranos fired back, not needing to let everyone know what truly happened between the enemy leader and his two friends and the princess.

"Now that I think of it, what happened to the mages? Were they of no use? Almost every battle mage we had in the capital was sent on the front lines." the same man asked.

"Very few survived. Too many died in the fighting and others fell into captivity. We can safely say that our battle mages were rendered ineffective with the very low numbers we're left with." Adranos said and looked at the emperor, not bothering to look again at the butthurt general.

Molt facepalmed. Something you don't see every day from a man like him. "Lord Adranos, this was a total waste of resources and lives on our Army's behalf." he said. He still remembered very well the letter he got from Pina a while ago after she returned from Japan with Bozes. He knew what his daughter was doing and had his suspicions about what actually transpired in the Duma Mountains. But he decided to play stupid. "What of my daughter? What do you know about Pina?"

"Nothing for sure but if the rumors are to be believed, then she is making her way back to the capital. My best guess is that she met Titus and are coming home with their troops." Adranos answered. _'Molt knows something…'_ he thought to himself.

"Very well…" Molt says and gets up on his feet. "Lord Adranos, I want to speak to you in private. Tomorrow. Come and have breakfast with me in the Palace. It is very important." and slowly walks down the stairs. "I'm done for today."

Adranos stays his ground. Molt passes by him and leaves the throne room with three of his personal bodyguards, the Praetorian Guard. Adranos sighs and leaves the throne room shortly after. Unlike many nobles with official positions in the Empire's leadership, he actually cared about his country and had things to take care of. Thus, he made his way towards the Army's administrative buildings within the capital.

* * *

 **Special Region, RCT3 location**

 _D-Day + 52 days, midday_

Itami's unit managed to get past the mountains and was now advancing along the northern bank of the Row stream. The monotone sound of engines filled the air. Everybody was keeping an eye on the their left side, towards the woods. Inigo told them what happened to many unaware people who wandered around these parts and it wasn't sitting easy with them.

Erwin's tank was leading the column. _Hussar Three_ 's turret kept traversing and scanning with every sensor the trees for signs of human presence. Katsumoto, the LAV's .50 cal gunner, kept the M2 Browning pointed towards the trees.

The only one who was relaxed was Rory. She could tell when danger was close and when not. And, for now, she felt like there was nothing to be afraid of. A shame the rest of RCT3 ignored her for most of the time. Rory decided to take a nap until things got interesting for her. Itami was too tense to tease him right now.

After what seemed an eternity to everybody, somebody broke the silence on radio. It was Erwin and he had bad news. "Guys, _Hussar Three_ needs a drink soon. We can go 100 more kilometers. Should I get in touch with Alnus and request a supply drop? Heard they finally brought the first Kawasaki C-1."

"Wouldn't be a bad idea. Go ahead Erwin. There is a flat zone on the map somewhere 60 or 70 km ahead. It was mapped by one of the Phantoms." Itami said. "Request some food too. We're burning quicker through our rations."

"Roger." the German tank commander confirms and switches frequency. After a brief dialogue with Alnus Base, he comes with an answer. "We have a package incoming. ETA: 5 hours give or take. They want us to dispose of the empty canisters after we refill the vehicles."

"We'll refill with what we have in the Toyota HMV and take the fuel they drop us as reserve. I think we'll make it there in 2 or 3 hours." Itami says.

Inigo couldn't help but note on the speed they were moving at. "You guys can cover such a distance in such a short time?"

Kurata answered the wolf man who was sitting in the back seats with Kurokawa and Rory. "If we were on a road we could cover that distance in less than an hour, probably. But the terrain is difficult and we have to go slower."

"So, Inigo… what can we expect as we go up north?" Itami asks.

"Hmm… The northern province is more civilized than what you see south. They are mostly decent people and they don't practice slavery like the Empire does. As long as you don't get on their bad side you will have a good stay. The local lords are decent folk but there are some spoiled seeds too. Was a fine place to spend time until Hardy went crazy on the people there." he says.

"Hardy is such a pain… she's been asking me for years to marry her." Rory says with an annoyed teenager's voice.

"And what did you say?" Kurata asked.

"I am not going to waste the remaining 40 years on this world with her. I want someone more exciting who has everything…"

Itami could feel Rory's eyes fixed on the back of his skull. He cringed as a memory came forth with Rory talking to Tuka in the civilian district of Alnus a while back. Itami overheard some perverted discussions going on between the two. He never thought Tuka had a dirty mind. She always had the looks of a cheerful and innocent teenager. But she was 165 years old… She had plenty of time to learn everything, a thought that didn't run through Itami's mind up until now. _'Geez…'_ Itami thought as he sunk in his seat. _'At least Tuka has eyes for others.'_

The Japanese lieutenant was loyal to Risa. They divorced but they stayed together. A paper testifying that they were married or not wasn't an obstacle in two people' love story. He remembered again Risa's words: _"You better make it back home, Youji."_. He rubbed his chin and noticed his bear was growing like crazy. He noted mentally to shave the next morning.

"We really have to be careful with Hardy's demons. She has servants very powerful. The most common are her winged demons and the corrupted souls who can be unleashed on the realm of the living and kill every living soul if they are commanded. I have no doubt we can deal with them. But they can overwhelm anyone when they come in high numbers. The ones we should be looking out for are the liches." Rory added to the information pool.

"Liches? Are they some sort of undead?" Kurata asked her. Kurokawa felt left behind, fantasy wasn't her domain at all.

"Yes. No regular man can take on such a creature. I've met them once in a labyrinth. It was a great adventure alongside that mage, Mimoza I think is her name. She's now teaching magic in the city of Rondel. The liches are capable of wielding magic and are dangerous. To you, at least. I can take them on pretty well. I can't die after all. Very intelligent for an undead monster. Keep your distance and do what you JSDF do best."

"Man, that's bad…" Kurata complains.

"You won't meet a lich unless you feel brave enough to explore some ancient underground places." Inigo said. This picked everyone's curiosity.

"Tell us more." Kurokawa jumped in.

The wolf man was taken back a bit by her sudden outburst for information. "Sure. From what I know, they are mostly found in old elven ruins or in some underground temple or tomb. In ancient times, magic was more widespread than today, especially among elves who can summon elemental magic and can benefit from the aid of elemental spirits.

Liches were initially thought to be souls of the living, elf or human, who were too greedy in their life or did something bad or just died with big regrets and had a predisposition for magic. When they died and their bodies decayed, they came back to life if powerful magic was used near them and would seek to hurt the living. Hardy adopted them as her more exceptional servants.

Any good mage can summon a lich. But most good mages don't take the path of necromancy and dark magic. The Empire outlawed such practices ages ago. And so did the other kingdoms of Elbe, Mudwan and the League Principality. Many necromancers have bounties on their heads as soon as word gets out about them. The Empire's battle mages have the power to summon a lich or far worse than them. But as I said, they are outlawed. Not even in the darkest hours should one be summoned, for it will turn on its master very soon after it kills anyone else."

"Wow… you know a lot. What other worse is there?" Itami asked.

"I know because I've seen one in my youth. For worse? Th-"

"Hold on a minute. You saw one?" Rory asked. "How did you survive, Wolfy?"

"I ran, just like any smart man would." Inigo replied.

"How did you come to meet a lich?" Itami inquired further.

"Ah, that was a long time ago. I think I was just past my 22nd winter when my group came across what was left of an ancient elven town. We were employed by a group of scholars to keep them safe from anything while they went ahead and explored the surroundings. They somehow managed to find the mythical city of Nya Entheas." Inigo started his story.

"Employed?" Kurokawa asked.

"Yes. I was a mercenary at first." he explained.

"So you were hired by King Duran in this war and at the battle at Alnus?" the combat medic continued her inquiry.

Inigo took offense to that. Kurokawa had no way of knowing and that was why she was asking but the way she asked offended him. "No. Well, I guess I have to tell you first how I came to meet the old Lion of Elbe. I was just an orphan child when I was taken by Duran. There I met others. He has a big heart, you know? I arrived in Elbe's capital with nothing hiding under some blankets, I sneaked into a caravan at night.

The old man taught me how to fight with a sword and a bow. When I came of age I was a decent swordsman. My archery could use some extra work but I got the job done. Then… me and the other kids who were raised by him almost like a father… we decided to go out into the world. See the world, adventure and what not. For a while we even worked as mercenaries.

Duran was sad when we left but he had faith in us. I have seen most of Falmart in 15 years of travels and adventures. I've seen a lot of things in my time. Not many nice things out there in the world, you know… Stick to the surface and you are good. Venture underground or into ruins and places that give you the chills and you tend to shorten your life."

Kurata whistled. "This place looks so serene to me." he said.

"Yep. I remember this one time when we went into the Arrun Labyrinth once. Not the best memories I've got with that place. Around every corner is something that wants to kill you. If it isn't a trap or some poisonous snake, then it is a minotaur with a thirst for human blood or a cockatrice. Lost one of our group there and we wisely decided to climb on the walls and make our way out of there. Did I forget to mention the zombies?

Now, back at how I met a lich. We were paid by some scholars who thought they found the ruins of Nya Entheas to escort them there and keep at bay whatever foul creature lurks around. Took us two days of walking through the forests before reaching the hidden ruins at the foot of the mountains, west of Toumaren. Way back in the southern parts of Falmart.

Even if the city was more than 10,000 years old… it was still beautiful. Covered in moss and with trees growing from among rubble… It gave it a nice aura. But then that gut instinct kicked in and we went into our vigilant mode. The smart asses decided to go ahead of us and open a magic door with a magic riddle. And then all hell broke loose. In less than a few minutes, a gods damn lich was woken from his sleep and immediately attacked the scholars.

No armor on them at all and only a dagger at best, they were slaughtered. Literally slaughtered. All that was left of them were bloodied clothes and spilled guts. We got its attention when we put two arrows in its back… and it only pissed him off more. We had no silver blades or magic skills to effectively kill it so we wisely decided to take our leave with the lich behind us in a wild chase. Never before did I think I could run as fast as that. Fortunately, the lich gave up the chase when we got out of the city's ruins and into the forest." Inigo told.

Rory chuckled while the three JSDF soldiers were silent. They didn't expect that much from this place. To their credit, they didn't explore Falmart to get to know it like Inigo does. And he wasn't done with the talking.

"But after we ventured here and there… we came back. Those of us who survived, that is. King Duran recognized us the moment we set foot in his throne room. Battered, dirty and hungry as we were, he laughed at us and welcomed us home. Since then, I'm his personal bodyguard with my pals. They stayed behind while I decided that one more adventure couldn't hurt. Well, me and Duran. He wants to ally Elbe with Japan and the other countries and thought that my idea of tagging along could help improve relations between us. But there hasn't been a bit of action since we left."

"I hope it stays that way." Itami said.

"Come on, where's your sense of adventure? The curiosity of the unknown…" Rory says to him as she leans forward and is just to his right ear.

Itami smiled. Not that he doesn't like adventuring, but he prefers to do it in the worlds of his favorite manga and novels. "I really want to get back home alive. And I don't want to lose anyone. Inigo, you said that there are worse. What else is out there?"

From the relaxed tone he used earlier to tell his story, the wolf man now stiffened and adopted a voice filled with some kind of fear. "Let's just say that some stones are better left unturned. The flame dragon is a foe you would choose anytime to fight instead of the horrors the dwarves have come across."

"The dwarves?"

"Yeah. You know, the little folk who prefer to live in their underground cities. There are those who live on the surface with the humans, elves and humanoids and there are those who live underground. Finest miners and builders in the world. And they sell their wares for a fine price too. Or they exchange a certain quantity for food. Elbe's wealth comes from mining. There are several dwarf cities in the Tybe Mountains, south of Alnus, and in the mountains near Toumaren. Duran came to an agreement with them to sell him the ores way cheaper and then Elbe sells it for higher prices. But we rely on our own mines with our miners.

Suffice to say that some older and ancient cities of the dwarves were overrun by goblins and orcs or they house horrors far beyond the mortal's strength. Some dug too greedy and too deep. Demons left here since the creation of the world were woken from their eternal sleep. I thank the gods every day that they can't get out of those underground prisons. Because if they do… we are truly lost."

Inigo's last words put the fear into everyone. Even Rory felt uneasy and that means something. Something really bad, strong and evil lurks deep beneath their feet.

"Makes you think of Tolkien's Middle Earth, doesn't it?" Kurokawa breaks the silence.

"Now that you mention it Mari-san, it really does." Kurata replies after thinking for two seconds about the similarities.

"Who is Tolkien and where is Middle Earth?" Rory asked.

"Tolkien was a writer and Middle Earth is a fictional place where his stories take place. Remind me to get you some of his books next time we're in Japan, Rory." Itami answers her. "I think you'll enjoy them."

Rory smiled for herself and flushed a little like a teenager. For a 961 year old demigoddess, she was very childish sometimes, another thing she had in common with the much younger Tuka. "Would you do that for me, Youji?"

"I don't see why not. Actually, I'll put an order for _The Lord of the Rings – The Fellowship of the Ring_ and maybe it'll be at Alnus by the time we get there."

Itami turned around as he said his last words to catch a glimpse of her childish smile. He then noted to himself not to forget to forward a report about what Inigo told them. Command had to learn about this if they didn't know already.

* * *

 **Special Region, Mountain Range of Ice and Snow**

 _Meanwhile_

Far to the north, the two intrepid heroes were on their second day in their journey to reach Alnus. They left Fel'kren two days ago, the city they made comfortable in for at least two weeks. Time passed so quickly… Alistair felt like it was yesterday when he first got there with a deer on his back and Alia by his side.

He was left without a primary weapon after the fight with Hardy's apostle, Giselle. He only had his M1911 with three magazines, that means 21 rounds. They both decided to keep the pistol as a last resort tool or for hunting when they would run low on food. Better said, when she runs low on food. Alistair carried his blade on his back, he strapped it with a leather belt to his back and could easily draw it with his right hand.

His companion laughed at him when she first heard he would use the katana as his primary weapon and didn't believe that somehow he learned to wield it in his sleep from an ethereal entity who resides in his body. She went as far as to call him a lunatic to which he simply left her alone to calm down from the crazy laughing.

He didn't feel the cold anymore. He didn't feel hungry or thirsty. He only felt sleepy now and then. His military combat uniform was battered and had holes in it or cuts with blood stains. This only made him look more intimidating if nothing else. He looked like he was buried under a battlefield by a huge shell and rose up from the ground when the battle was over. There are many accounts of soldiers being literally buried under dirt by large explosions.

On their second day, after passing through ruined caravans and frozen bodies who fell victims to Hardy's demons in the opening onslaught, Alistair and Alia came across their first village. The wooden houses were abandoned. Doors left open, windows smashed, belongings thrown everywhere around. The snow covered most of the bodies and it was slowly turning the countryside into an impassible landscape. With nobody to clear the piling snow, the roads were proving difficult to use.

"Keep your eyes open. There are rogue demons left who haven't retreated back into Hardy's realm." Alistair said to which Alia nodded.

"Should we scavenge anything?" she asked.

"If you want to, then yes, go ahead. I'll cover you. Try to stay out of fights, girl."

Alia felt offended. "Excuse me? I am better than you with the sword."

"And I can take a beating you can't. We can't afford to take unnecessary risks that might end up with you injured in this frozen hell."

She didn't say anything else and went ahead into the first house. Alistair followed. The house was a mess – a kettle with what they guessed to be food was on the ground with the food frozen on the ground, spoons and plates and mugs were all around, the chairs and tables collected snow, bed sheets were on the ground.

"Must have been surprised by something. The broken glass suggests that someone forced its way in." Alia voiced her observations.

"Or something…"

"Yes. The broken door means that whatever demons came for the villagers had no trouble in reaching them."

"I didn't think it was this bad when you first told me about what happened here…" Alistair says with what Alia guessed to be sorrow in his voice.

"Only the towns have escaped this fate… and they will succumb to famine very soon. And probably riots…"

"If we get word to Alnus and tell them about this then they can feed your people. We have cargo planes capable of parachuting food and water for the affected towns."

"Are they similar to the two flying… planes who helped us at Fel'kren?" she asked and gestured with her hands through the air.

"Yes. The cargo planes are larger and can deliver more supplies. And, maybe, we could clear every single demon from these mountains and restore things to normal. But I doubt they'll send in troops. Who knows… there are many unknowns in the equations."

"What's an equation?"

"Ah… Mathematics. I doubt you'll like that bloody class."

"More weird terminologies from your world, Al."

"I know, I know. Can't help it. I don't know your equivalent words for them so I work with what I have."

After looking around, they didn't find anything useful. Alia sighed. "I should have known there isn't anything left here. And we have wasted time we could have spent covering more ground."

"Now don't be mad at ya. How long 'till the Sun goes down?" he asked.

"Not much… up here in the north the days tend to be short, as you've already seen."

"Then we better decide on what to do. If there is no decent shelter up ahead, then I suggest we spend the night here and leave at the first hour in the morning." Alistair suggested and received a nod from his friend. "Alright, I'll go and get some branches to start a fire. The wood from the chimney has too much snow on it to be of any real good and probably has ice formed in its cracks. You clear the chimney and see what else you find around here."

"Aye aye, captain!" Alia replied with sarcasm.

He left the house and made his way towards the trees. "Alright chap, let's see what you can do." he whispers to himself and draws the black katana with blue on its hilt. "So, if I remember from the few samurai movies I've seen…" and uses both hands to hold the blade and takes an offensive posture. He brings the blade up to cut the branches. Unknowingly, an instinct kicks in and, with just one powerful blow, cuts down a thicker branch.

"Bloody hell… guess I actually got it going somewhere in the back of my mind."

Alistair then cuts other thinner branches and drags them to the house. The Sun was, by now, far beyond on the other side of the mountain and was sinking into the horizon. He drops the branches by the door and goes inside. It was very dark inside the house.

"Alia, where the hell are you?" he asked. "Hey, gi- ACH!" and a sudden sharp pain in his back sends him on his knees. "What…" he turns around to see his companion knocked out cold on the floor, barely visible in the dim light and two men. One of them just stabbed him in the back.

"Fos dreh mu dreh voth mok?" _(What do we do with him?)_ one asked by the tone of it.

A woman's voice came from the opposite side of the house. "Mu krii mok." _(We kill him)_ and delivers a blow to his head. She was wearing steel greaves and it left a mark. Alistair realized that these were brigands most likely and the thought of them killing Alia, which is what he thought they did, filled him with rage.

"You bastards just got yourselves a one way ticket to hell!" he shouted and got on his feet. As he did so, he caught the woman by her leg and pulled her towards him. She didn't expect such a vigorous response from Alistair after taking a big hit to his face. He caught her by her neck and glared daggers into her eyes.

The woman struggled to release herself from his grip. He then threw her against the wall with all his force. The two didn't have any time to help their accomplice because it all happened so fast. Alistair turned his attention towards the men and spoke in a deep, bone chilling voice. "How can you kill something eternal?"

They got their swords out and rushed him. One went for a forward thrust while the other one went for a downwards slice. Alistair dodged to his right the thrust and caught the other one's hand in midair. His grip on his foe's wrist forced him to drop the sword and delivered a kick to his stomach which sent him out through the window. The sound of cracking ribs confirmed he was out of commission. The last one standing tried to push Alistair with his shoulder only to be knocked out with an uppercut.

Alistair walked outside and near the one he threw out of the window. He was struggling to breathe.

"I will take pity on you, bloody bastard." he says and draws his katana. The British towers over the poor brigand who chose the wrong people to kill and loot. With a swift motion, the black ebony-like blade pierced his heart. He then walked inside the house once more. Another kick to the knocked out fella to make sure he stays so for a little longer.

"So, you still got it going…" he says to the woman who was with them. His face was now burning in the same black fires as last time when he faced Giselle. He slowly regained his composure and his face returned to normal.

"Hokzii! Hokzii!" the woman kept saying, obviously in pain from the force she hit the wall with.

Alistair knelt half a meter in front of her. He closed his eyes and calmed himself down. _'I sense Alia's vital signs, they are good. So, she was only knocked out.'_ he thought to himself.

" _Don't worry about your companion for she will be fine. But this one in front of you… She thinks you are a demon."_ the voice from his mind says.

' _How can I argue with that? You turned me into one.'_

" _Did I? You accepted me to save your friend here. You were a monster before we met, you said that yourself. The monster who protects and builds towns, not the kind of those who smashes them. According to your own philosophy, you are a necessary evil. I only gave you the power to exercise your ideals and I can't argue when you want to go full out on those who deserve severe punishment for their actions. You will always be perceived as a demon when you use my power."_

' _Ah, damn you! Shut it already. You sound just like Alia.'_

" _She does have a point. But she is too good for her own good. Soldier, remember this – there is no greater evil than that of mortal races. Especially of humans. You people are capable of the greatest horrors and atrocities. You favor deceit and backstabbing."_

' _Are you for real, mate? What of the dragon and real monsters?'_

" _They are so by their nature. You always know what to expect from them. Hardy's demons are evil by their nature and exercise themselves at their mistress' orders. So are the ancient monsters of this world. You have seen very little and will see just a fraction of what is to come. From a beast or real demon it is to be expected to act that way. The dragon, for example, feeds. Humans, most of the time, lay waste to their own kin only for one's sole material gain."_

'… _We are living in a world of shame. Yet it is a beautiful world too. A world of shame and glory.'_

" _Well said. Remember what you said for it will forever be true. And back to matters at hand, you should keep your guard up. If you were vigilant you would have sensed the three brigands and their hostile intent long before they could ambush you or hurt your friend."_

' _A normal human can't feel things like that.'_

" _You are not normal. I'll be back later on. I advise you to tend to your companion and to the injured brigand before you. She is scared."_

' _Yeah, right. I forgot time passes slower when we talk.'_

Alistair opened his eyes. The woman was still in front of him. Judging by how her eyes were scanning the surroundings, she was looking for a way out.

"You better make yourself comfortable 'cause you ain't going nowhere, sunshine." he told her.

She now spoke in the Empire's language. She had the same Nordic accent as Alia and Vigor and many of the people he met in this region. "To hell with you, demon!"

"I've been there. The Devil didn't want me and sent me back." Alistair said and smiled as he stuffed a piece of clothing into her mouth and restrained her.

The light was almost absent by now. He decided to light a fire. He brought in the branches and cleared them of snow. The pines were put aside and used to start the fire. He moved Alia closer to the chimney where the fire was burning and took her helmet off to examine her for wounds. No bleeding, no traumas, nothing.

The captive brigand was muttering something but was ignored by the lieutenant. He was still a member of the British Army. He died when fighting Giselle and could be considered KIA because his condition is very different to that of a normal living person. But the brass didn't know this so he was very much alive for them.

He used a rope he had in his bag to tie the other knocked out man and pin him in a corner where he was not going to cause any trouble. He even blindfolded him. After setting everything up, he turned his attention to the woman. He sat down near her, took off his black helmet and put it down.

"Now, before you start cursing me and all that smart ass thing, remember that I am a man with not a lot of patience and you are effectively at my mercy. Cooperate, answer my questions and you will get to live another day…" and brings out his combat knife. "Piss me off and I will enjoy gutting you like a fish. Frankly, the only reason you are alive right now is because of the Frost warrior you knocked out. Unlike me, she has a big soul."

"So…", he speaks and plays with the knife, his eyes locked on the sharp blade, "don't be stubborn, help me keep you alive until she wakes up and decides your fate. Otherwise…", and a wicked smile creeps on his face, "end like the other scum – dead. Hell, I might even take your guts out before I kill you. A curious thing, the human body will still be alive if you cut it in the abdomen and expose the insides. It will take you from a few seconds to a few minutes or hours to die with such a wound."

By now, her eyes grew and were reflecting the fire in the chimney. Alistair kept his smile. "What will it be?" and takes off the cloth from her mouth to let her speak. "Will you stay alive or die so soon?"

"What do you want?" she asks with half voice.

"I want to know how you ended up here and why you did what you just did. Bloody hell, I thought there was nobody left in the countryside."

"We used to come here often and look for anything useful. We could use everything we find." she answers.

"Aha. And what are the details you left out? It is obvious by a country mile you want to bullshit me."

"I am not lying!"

Alistair sighs and punches her in the right jaw. "No. Bullshitting."

The woman recovered from the punch, his gloves reinforced with steel knuckles were not gentle at all. "You damn bastard…"

"You are testing me patience." he warns her. "Where are the others? What were you after? Why did you attack us?"

"We took refuge in a cave inside the forest. The lucky ones who escaped sought refuge in towns or in the underground cities of the dwarves. The bearded midgets accepted them. But there are others, like us, who preferred the surface."

And he hits her for a second time. This time, she spat two bloody molars on the cold floor. "Where's the part when you brigands come in?"

The woman was tough, she could take a beating. Her eyes betrayed a terrible anger directed at Alistair. But, not being that foolish, she played along. She was at his mercy, after all.

"We saw you entering the village… And when you left for the tree line we came in. Your woman was too busy digging around to notice us creep on her knocked her out. She would have fetched us a fine purse of gold or an even larger bag of silver denarii on the Empire's slave market. You would have been too much trouble and wanted to kill you but you are something more than you let the eye meet. Yes, we are brigands… We followed you up until here…"

Alistair sighed and rubbed his temples. "You better pray to whatever gods you believe in that Alia doesn't let me deal with you because if she does I will hang you. You especially, woman."

Some moans let the two know that Alia just got up. She was rubbing the back of her head. Alistair immediately rushed to her and helped her up.

"You good, girl?"

"Will you ever stop calling me a girl?" she says with a soft voice.

"Yep, you good. Now, meet our friend here, Miss Brigand!" Alistair introduces the restrained woman to Alia.

"Brigand? This clears things… Why is blood coming out of her mouth?" she asked and turned at Alistair with a look saying _'What did you do?'_

He acknowledged what her eyes said. "What!? She's a bloody brigand. I was more than entitled to kill her right when I had the chance but I kept her alive so you can decide what punishment is the most appropriate. Bloody buggers even stabbed me. Now that I think of it, can you pull this dagger out of my back? I can't reach it and it's pissing me off big time."

Alia saw the dagger and was shocked to learn he had it stuck in his back for a while now. "How… what!? Al…" she mumbled.

"Come on girl, just pull it out already."

She slowly put her fingers around the dagger's hilt and pulled it out. In the light produced by the fire she saw a black patch seal itself up immediately where a terrible wound should have been. She gasped, not believing her eyes and took a few steps back.

"Al… what are you?" she asked.

Alistair felt knots in his throat thinking of a response. He barely found the strength to reply, many thoughts and past dialogues going through his mind. "I don't know, girl… I'm a monster, a demon…"

"Damn right you are…" the woman spat with hate.

"So, what do you want to do with these two? They wanted to kill me and sell you on the Empire's slave market."

"They what!?" Alia shouts in anger. She never approved of this practice. Most of those who lived in the northern province expressed disgrace at such a practice. But others, such as the less moral brigands, found a steady source of income in kidnapping women and selling them into slavery. And nobody asked anything if the woman had a history with the blade and armor, being considered some sort of combatant who fell prisoner.

"If you leave me to deal with her and her KO-ed friend… well… let's just say that you know what I think of such scum." Alistair reminded her.

Alia took a few moments to contemplate. Her blue hair was in disarray. She took her feminine stance, hands on her hips. She exchanged glances with Alistair in the fire's light. The British man simply nodded before turning around and sitting on a chair. Alia reached for her blade and drew it out. With a metallic sound, she announced their sealed fates.

"Are you sure, girl? This is not like you."

"They have committed high treason against the people, crimes which cannot beg redemption. Banditry is punished by death. Bandits are on the death row. And I bet all I have that they have been doing this for a while now, judging by their gear. Not everyone can afford steel armor. It is pretty expensive, after all."

"Get done with it already…" the woman said.

"You lawless bastards take lives as you desire and when it suits your selfish desires… You kill for sport and for pleasure. As a warrior of the Frost Guard, the highest order of warriors of the northern people, by the authority and trust invested in me as a member of the Frost, and according to our laws, I sentence you to die."

"Thought you would never shut up… Mercy you say, big guy? She got no mercy."

"If I was to take your life you would beg for her to put you out of your misery." Alistair fired at her. He then grabbed her by her chest plate and takes her outside. He throws her in the snow and leaves her standing there. Alia follows them outside. Alistair takes his pistol out and hands it to Alia.

"Use this if you want to give her a clean death. You know how to operate an M1911. Don't use more than a bullet. In the head."

"Uhm… thanks… I guess."

Alistair proceeds to bring the brigand woman back on her feet. "Stand still if you don't want to suffer, scum."

Alia connects the gun's muzzle with the brigand's forehead. After a moment of hesitation and contemplation, she mutters something in her native tongue. The sentenced woman's eyes are closed, waiting for the end. She seems eerily resigned to her fate.

"Aal rah lost aaz voknau hin sil." and pulls the trigger. Brain and skull fragments splatter the snow red and she falls down. Alia looks at her right hand in which she's holding the pistol. Alistair takes the gun from her hand and pats her on the shoulder.

"She deserved it. Don't linger on it. You did what was right, even you know that. You upheld the laws of your people."

"I know… but it still feels wrong."

"It always will. Go inside and rest. I'll clean the mess."

"Th-Thanks."

Alistair watches her walk inside. He drags the corpse of the woman of the man he stabbed in the heart closer to the forest where he digs two simple graves in the snow and throws them in there. After covering them with a layer of snow, he digs a third grave for the bandit that is still inside. He gets back on his feet and walks inside.

He found him already dead, mortal wound to the heart. _'Alia…'_

He took him outside and buried him too before going to sleep. The man asks himself what he's become to do things like that. _'I just hope that when I return home they will sentence me to death.'_

* * *

 **Sadera, Imperial Palace**

 _D-Day + 53 days, morning_

Molt was sitting at a small table in his private quarters within the palace. His servants brought him his breakfast and was joined by Adranos as he requested yesterday. The old man bowed and took a seat on the opposite side of the table.

"Lord Adranos, I'm glad you could join me.' Molt says.

"Couldn't disobey the emperor's command, could I, Highness?"

"You could have. Please, eat. I asked for food for two. It's my usual breakfast." Molt invited him to eat together.

"Thank you, Your Grace. What is it that you wanted to discuss with me today?" Adranos asks as the two start eating.

"Let's drop the formalities, Adranos. We know each other for too long to keep this going in private. You were just an aspiring centurion when I turned 10. What do you know about Pina?"

"That she is on her way here most likely."

"Tell me truth. I received a letter from Italica. Sent by Pina herself. Surely you know better than that."

"What letter? How old? What does it say? No letter from the Princess has reached me."

"You tell first. It's very important to me. It's about my daughter, Adranos…" the emperor says with a trace of worry in his voice.

"She'll return to Sadera with General Titus."

"I can extort you of the information I desire…"

"I thought we were informal here."

"Right… Pina visited the country beyond the gate. And she told me about wonders beyond our imagination. She simply praised our invaders. And she said that we need to make peace with them before time runs out."

"Alright… the truth is that General Titus simply surrendered to the enemy commander when he realized the battle was lost. Tasius was taken prisoner but he is not treated like a prisoner at all. All our people are treated well. Princess Pina was there and met with the two. Tasius will act as prisoner for a while. Titus and your daughter will be in the capital in due time…"

"Pina wants to be the mediator between the Empire and the enemy."

"What are your thoughts, Emperor?"

Molt raised an eyebrow when Adranos addressed him by his title. "I certainly screwed this up, didn't I? I wanted to expand the Empire's influence and I stirred up a hornet's nest. For now, we should focus on what is best for the Empire. I am still not convinced by this situation.

Pina may harbor positive feelings and opinions about the enemy but she is my daughter and, as any parents, I care about my child. If the Senate finds out what quest she embarked on, she could be branded a traitor and I have little in the way of saving her.

If I go against the Senate I will start a political war in the Empire's leadership. That I do not wish… Adranos, I will let her and the two generals play this game. Take great care with your actions.

And if I know one thing for sure about Pina is that she never backs from something she wants to achieve. Not that I approve of her actions. I don't want to see the enemy set foot in my capital. Ever!"

"Let there be peace between the two sides. Concerning news have reached my ears. News from the Mountain Range of Ice and Snow. If the rumors are true, Hardy unleashed her fury on the province."

"What?"

"We're living interesting times…"

"So we might subdue the northern province after all these years…" Molt laughs.

Adranos doesn't like the Emperor's belligerence. He can be a smart man and understanding, but he is still the leader of an hegemonic state at heart. He decides to take his leave now that they have finished eating and are done with the serious things.

"Your Grace, if there isn't anything else…"

"No, Lord Adranos. Thank you for joining me this morning and sharing the information."

* * *

 **Alnus Base, Hazama's office**

 _Meanwhile_

General Hazama was going over the recent orders he received from Japan. Yanagida was in front of him, going over the same orders he had to dispatch.

"General, let me get this straight. NATO and Japan want the bodies of dead mages to experiment on them? And one or two prisoner mages?"

"That is right. We can't ignore the threat they pose. We've lost just over 1,000 men in the battle and the mages have their fair share of kills. Were it not for them, we could have breached through the Dumas much faster. We must gather information as soon as possible and come with countermeasures." Hazama stated.

"I could ask Master Cato to shed some light on this topic, if you want me to, sir. He's here at Alnus, in the civilian district."

"Do so, Yanagida. Any news from RCT3?" Hazama asked.

"They reported this morning. Apparently, they have refueled and replenished their supplies. They have cleared the difficult terrain and are headed into the northern plains where they will pick up the pace. And Lt Itami sent a special report regarding more dangerous animals and magic entities found in the Special Region. If this is true… then it means bad news."

"I want a copy of that on my desk ASAP! Did

they make contact with the natives?"

"Not a lot of villages on the route they chose. The two fishing villages in which they stopped have their separate reports which will be on your desk immediately as they are processed, sir."

"Thank you, Lt. Send the orders to General Dietrich. And make sure to keep it as low as possible. Nobody needs to know we're smuggling corpses and prisoners through the gate for experiments and who knows what else. Discretion is of the essence. The last thing we need on our hands right now is the U.N. attacking us with this and losing popularity with the population more than we already did. Losing so many soldiers in such a short span of time against an inferior enemy took a heavy toll on the public opinion. Hell, the observers sent by the U.N. are praying to catch us with anything they can use against us."

"Yes, sir. I'll get to it."

* * *

 **AN:** I still think I could have done WAY better and you surely agree with me… but hey, there goes the political part. The next chapter will focus on RCT3's journey and then we go full politics, diplomacy, Zorzal asshole and all the great stuff most of you are waiting for. Please leave your thoughts on this chapter.

* * *

 **Faust1812:** Thank you very much for your advice, Faust. I should say that I am very new to writing and, too often, i don't consider everything that is involved or everything that has ramifications from my actions. I will remember your review and will implement some of the observations you made in the future chapters. I thought of creating another smaller but important story line based on the feedback from Earth's population. I initially wanted to do so with some special forces trying to kidnap the SR visitors and info getting leaked but i decided otherwise, thinking i might screw this up. But i think i can get it done from this point of the story on. And yes... i might have exaggerated with the numbers. I put the Earth troops in a Vietnam-like scenario - in heavy and unfavorable terrain for offensive operations. Thank you again for your review, really appreciated. Your latest chapter gave me a couple ideas too but it would be unfair of me to kind of import that from yours to mine. I will do my best to keep it as original as I can and will have the scientists and military figures look into countermeasures against magic. Fair thing is that many mages died in the fighting, few of them left to inflict large losses to our guys. I might have to write longer chapters than usual for the diplomacy part to be able to move on and start concluding my story.

 **Arimane503:** Don't worry about that part. I've thought that one out. Gave it time to think about it and I think I got it right :D thanks for your opinion and support. I won't throw advanced tech into the SR. No. More like regular household things such as scissors or things like that as a start. But not cars, microwaves, electric things and the sort. And certainly not weapons. It would be the equivalent of the Inquisition with guns and more nut cases.

 **Newbie:** I must confess, how you described Alistair really made me laugh. Worry not, his storyline is pretty much figured out :p the story isn't called 'A World of Shame  & Glory' for nothing. As for Zorzal, we'll see more of him pretty soon.


	30. Ch 30 - Glimpse Into The Future (TEASER)

**Chapter 30: A Glimpse Into The Future - TEASER**

* * *

"He isn't human!"

"How can you know that!?"

* * *

"Now senators, before getting downright to business, we'd like to invite you to an event organized by us with Princess Pina's blessing to learn about the cultures beyond the gate."

* * *

"I'm sorry, senator. But punishment shall be delivered for treason!"

* * *

"Use this and you will have the power you desire. No mortal can withstand them. Not even the invaders from the other world."

"Who is 'them'?"

"You will learn in due time."

* * *

"I WILL NOT sit here doing nothing while that buffoon rubs his feet on the Army's face!"

* * *

"Gods damn you to hell, you bastard of a brat!"

* * *

"What the hell is she!?"

"Dammit! Just shoot her before she slices more with that giant scy- AGH!"

* * *

"Dragon! DRAAGON!"

"Incoming!"

"TAKE COOVEEER!"

* * *

"You have gone too far, brother!"

"And what will you do about it? Let me tell you. You will do nothing! Seize her and her blue haired friend!"

* * *

"This time I will finish what I started in that frozen waste."

"You can try, you bloody moron. This time I'll have your damn head."

* * *

"ZORZAAAL! YOU ARE A DEAD MAN!"

* * *

"Please hand over the recording. This is not the time to reveal it to the people."

* * *

"Our sons died there! No more war!"

* * *

"The Jade Palace is under siege. We must do something!"

* * *

"Hazama is sitting on his ass! Send the tanks!"

"But sir…"

"No 'but'! I don't answer to the Japanese government and people. I answer to Germany! Send the Hussars!"

* * *

"We can fight! Just sharpen our blades or give us some if you have to spare."

"You are not soldiers!"

"WE ALL DIE IF WE DON'T HELP!"

* * *

"One last charge to go down in history. Hussars! FORWARD!"

* * *

"Go and live your life, girl. I shouldn't be here anymore."

* * *

"We should immediately mobilize the army, Your Highness!"

"We are heavily outnumbered considering the recent developments."

"Not if Elbe and its allies can help."

* * *

"Knights! Forth, and fear no darkness! CHARGE!"

* * *

"The army of the dead… they are back!"

* * *

"Time to settle this once and for all."

"You're a fool if you think you can take me on."

* * *

"He was my friend…"

"He was not supposed to be here anymore…"

"He was the Yin and Yang. He was just a man. Now… now he is a hero. And he's left me here alone…"

* * *

 **AN:** Reviews to chapters 29 and 30 will be addressed in chapter 31 when the next consistent update will be up. This is just a teaser for the second and final part of my story. Please leave your opinion to the teaser in reviews or PMs. Everything is dialogue here. And I will not give you any spoiler. Won't say who is talking to who :p Leave me your thoughts!


	31. Ch 31 - Two For Tragedy

**Chapter 31: Two For Tragedy**

* * *

 **Special Region, Mountain Range of Ice and Snow**

 _D-Day + 54 days_

"So, how much do we have to walk?" Alistair asked Alia.

"Already tired? It's barely morning." she says.

"Not tired, girl. You know what I'm asking."

"Still a lot. We would be covering more ground if this snow wouldn't interfere…"

"It just had to snow that much when there was nobody to keep the roads clean?"

"Stop complaining, soldier." Alia taunts him.

"Oy, bugger off…"

"What are you going to do when we find your… army?" she asked.

"Told ya a few times already if I remember well… I get put in prison, sent to Court Martial and your people get some help… In whatever that help may consist, they will get it…"

"You know… you are the only one who knows what's going on when it comes to those who started this. And yes, I'm thinking of Hardy, Emroy… every damn god who took part in this."

"The others' fault is that they left Hardy to her own devices and she was already rampaging around here for a while until they did something about this. Peculiar things your gods, their philosophy is that it's ok to kill some but not too many… They are like politicians, they want their voters. In their case, worshippers. Only Emroy doesn't give a shit. He's in just for the shits and giggles. By the way, Hardy and that Giselle bitch have been awfully quiet recently…" he explains.

"Indeed. Can't complain if they leave us alone."

"Girl, they are up to something."

"How do you know?"

"Gut instinct and training."

"Well, whatever they are up to, they will think twice before trying something funny again. After all, we've got a... human weapon that when it goes berserk nothing and no one is safe." Alia says with a big smile.

"You know, I'm learning not to lose myself like the first time. Can't think of anything that could make me lose my head again as when Giselle appeared."

"You're a walking disaster."

"Say what!?"

' _And I thank you for that… Al. But I'm so sorry. I'm a horrible person…'_ were Alia's thoughts. Alistair gave her a childish punch to her right shoulder. To his surprise, her shoulder guard fell off.

"What the hell?" he asked surprised.

Both of them were staring at the overlapping steel shoulder guard who now sat in the snow. She reached for it and took in her hands. "Nice… they fell for good this time. I'll need to see a blacksmith to get it fixed." she said.

"Why did it fall off? Didn't you tighten your armor?"

"It's not that. Remember when Giselle cut through my right arm, from elbow to shoulder, with her scythe?" she asked to which he nodded. "Well, she broke my shoulder guard with that. Did my best to fix it but it won't stay. The leather is good for… pretty much not a lot. And the steel plates have been cut in vital spots that keep it intact."

"That's a bugger…"

"Put this in your backpack and let's move. I will get it fixed one day."

"How's your arm looking? Healed all good?"

"Not as well as I'd like but I can't sit around and wait for it to be perfectly fine. The healer at the temple did his best and a good work. All that will be left at the end is a long scar."

* * *

 **Special Region, RCT3 location**

 _D-Day + 54 days_

After a tiresome and tense ride along the Row's northern bank, they finally reached the stone road used by the population to travel and transport goods or by the army to relocate. They were now going at a steady 60 km/h.

"Oy, Erwin! Can't you get your tank to go faster?" Itami asked his teammate on radio.

"I can go just a little over 70 but 60 is the recommended speed. Best fuel consumption to distance covered ratio is at 60 km/h. Sorry! If you really want to go ahead then do it. We can catch up and can take care of ourselves but you will have less firepower at your disposal." the German tank commander answered.

"We stay together, no questions about that. Anything ahead?" Itami says on radio. _Hussar Three_ was the leading vehicle of the column. Nobody would dare stand against such a majestic and dangerous war machine such as the Leopard 2. It had a feral aura to it, one that could unleash at a moment's notice. The large winged leopard sigil on its turret sides probably helped at this chapter.

"Nothing in immediate vicinity. Let me do a sweep with my binoculars." Erwin says, brings up a pair of binoculars and checks their surroundings at long distances. He then focused on something just in front of them. "Lt Itami, we got contacts. I think there's a watch tower, several clicks ahead. It's by the roadside… and… I think those are …that's a small castle!"

"What? Please repeat, _Hussar Three_."

"An Imperial checkpoint most likely. A watch tower and small walls. I suggest we take a detour through the landscape, the scenic route, you know. The walls are built over the road in a sort of checkpoint." Erwin reports once again.

"If they have good eyes up in that tower they have seen us already. And they will send cavalry after us if we take a detour and avoid the checkpoint, warn every other unit and the legion stationed at Telta. Before you know it, we'll have a legion on our tails. We better pass through." Inigo, hearing the discussion on the radio, intervenes.

"Won't that mean trouble? We don't look the native type and surely they know about what is going on at Alnus. Plus they'll start wondering how we can move in a vehicle this fast, they'll think those are horseless carts." Itami said with a bored voice, having gone through this before.

"Knowing you people, you can handle anything there. If it comes to trading blows we can level the checkpoint and kill them. If we take them all out then there's nobody left to send messenger pigeons or ravens. And they never station mages at checkpoints for telepathic magic." Inigo adds.

"One is bound to send word." Rory says. She feels it, it will come to bloodshed. She's been through this many times before.

"Inigo, where is most likely for them to keep the pigeons or ravens they use to send messages?" Itami asked the wolf man.

"I don't know. In the southern regions, the few checkpoints I've come across were very basic. They didn't have walls. Just a tower and a small house for the guards. In Elbe, we keep the birds in the highest point of the building." he explains.

Itami reaches again for the chest mounted radio of his. "Erwin, do you see anything that is remotely resembling what a bird… launching point... would look like?"

Half a minute of radio silence ensues. "If they look anything like what I've seen in those medieval style movies and series, then I think the answer is affirmative. What do you have in mind, Lt?" Erwin says and causes some members of RCT3 to laugh a bit.

Shino Kuribayashi's voice filled with enthusiasm cracks the radio back to life. "Are we finally having a fight to stretch some muscles, Lt?"

"That might be so, Kuribayashi. _Hussar Three_ , target that bird nest and take it out on my mark. Everybody else make ready for combat." Itami instructs the team.

"Lt Itami, please explain what you have on your mind." Kuwahara a.k.a. Pops says.

Itami sighs. He knows that this will only delay the inevitable. All he wanted was a nice ride north with no trouble but now that they were spotted by the guards in the tower he had to play his cards. "Alright team, I really don't want to do this but it is the only choice we are left with. The Imperials at the checkpoint know we are coming and we are expected to pass through there if we don't want to look suspicious. If we were to take another route they would send an entire legion to track us down… Okay, maybe not a legion but many soldiers. We go in and annihilate the small garrison here and delay the inevitable. Sooner or later when this post won't be reporting anymore they will send someone to check what's up and will see that someone destroyed it. Check your guns and be ready to engage. _Hussar Three_ will fire first and take out what we believe to be their early warning system. Itami out."

The column came half a kilometer from the Imperial checkpoint. Everybody was ready to engage. The Toyota HMV fell back as the last vehicle in the line for it carried most of RCT3's supplies.

" _Hussar Three_ is ready to fire. Just give the signal, Lt." Erwin stated on the radio.

Itami, in his seat, tightened the grip on the gun. He turned to look behind him at Kurokawa, Rory and Inigo who simply gave him a nod. Then he turned again to look forward at the Leopard 2 who had its turret turned slightly to the right. "Open fire." he calmly gave the order.

A second later, Franz, the tank's gunner, fired the gun. A boom kicked off dust from the ground as it sent the 120mm HEAT round into the top floor of the watchtower, just a bit higher than from where the spotters were. The shell flew true and the explosion took down the top floor. Another round was fired at the tower. It hit in the middle section and caused the tower to collapse.

"Target destroyed!"

"Move in! Move in! Secure the perimeter!"

Inigo didn't know what the tank was doing when it thundered. But he learned what it did when they entered the walled section of the road. On the left side of the road were the collapsed ruins of the watchtower. The small garrison the Empire had here was running around in chaos. He immediately jumped out of the vehicle. Rory was already rampaging around. The JSDF and British troops were shooting every enemy soldier.

Inigo readied his sword and engaged in combat what looked like an officer. Probably the commander of this post. All around him the soldiers were fighting each other. He noticed the tank traverse its turret and fire the cannon at the barracks, the detonation sent splinters and stone flying around and injuring several . This startled the officer and him too. But he regained his composure first and charged the still stunned Imperial officer.

Inigo went for a forward thrust into the man's throat but he dodged. The officer stepped back. The two circled each other for a second. The officer attacked first with a diagonal slash which Inigo dodged with no problem, then followed a punch intended to throw the wolf man back and stagger. Inigo fell to the ground and threw his foe to the ground with a leg sweep.

Inigo immediately jumped on man's chest, disarmed him and went for a stabbing. The officer caught in time him by the wrist. The two were struggling, one to kill and one to live.

"Damn dog!" Inigo's foe let out a final insult before being overpowered by the more imposing wolf man and having his throat pierced by the blade.

When he got up from the dead officer, the battle was already over. Dead soldiers of the Empire littered the ground around him and two smoking buildings were left . Erwin popped out of his tank's hatch and stretched his arms. He let out an enthusiastic scream of "Weeew! Always gets you pumped with adrenaline! Good girl…" he says as he rubs the tank's turret. He even gets down and hugs the tank. "Love you too, Leo…" he says.

Inigo just stood there, watching him with a dumb expression on his face. _'What the hell is he doing? Is he in love with that contraption?'_ he asked no one but himself.

Bauer got out of the driver's seat of the tank to inspect the tank when he noticed his commander showing too much love to the war machine. He cleared his throat and spoke to break Erwin from his moment.

"Hm hm! Herr Leutnant, I think that you and our dear panzer have a small audience."

Erwin opened his eyes and turned around. He saw Inigo, Rory, Kuribayashi with her bloody bayonet in hand and Itami standing there watching him with a face of surprise and some awkwardness. Every single one of them had a long face.

"What? If you don't love tanks like I do you will never understand." he says.

Inigo turns around and flinches when he sees the others right next to him. Rory smiles and whispers loudly to the others. "Pst! Maybe we should leave him with his tank… I don't want to see him when he gets any ideas with that thing…" and points at the cannon.

"Hey! I heard that!" Erwin says loud.

"Right… Lt Erwin, you better get yourself a girlfriend. Surely it won't be a normal one like me who will fall in love with a tank nut lover like you." Kuribayashi roasts him a bit.

"You would love a ride on my tank, Kuribayashi…" Erwin teases her with an eye sign.

Then Erwin heard Bauer say something to the group. "I remember this one time when we were in Germany and the commander got drunk. He approached a woman and said "Hey fraulein, care for a drive in my StuG?". Guess he heard that line from his grandfather who was a tanker in World War II." and they all burst into laughs. Everyone except for Inigo and Rory who didn't know that the StuG III was a WW2 era tank destroyer fielded by the Wehrmacht.

"The hell is a Stu-hg?" the demigoddess asked.

"Needless to say she ran away immediately!" Bauer continued.

Erwin growled as he remembered the joke everyone kept pulling around for a month after this had transpired. The group calmed down when Tomita approached them to report.

"Lt Itami, no survivors on the enemy's side."

Itami had one more good look around and ordered everyone to make ready to leave. Erwin ordered Bauer to throw out the empty shell cases and help Fritz replenish their ammunition. Bauer had the tiresome job of carrying the shells from the HMV to the tank and handing them to the loader, Erwin explicitly ordered Pvt Sasagawa, RCT3's wannabe photographer, not to bring the car carrying the spare ammo any closer to the tank.

"Alright team. Can't say I'm glad we had to do this but it will help us by buying us some time. It's either us or them. Let's get moving, team! We should cover as much ground as possible before nightfall." Itami ordered.

* * *

 **Alnus Base, Hazama's office**

 _D-Day+55 days, morning_

General Hazama had his hands full of work. First, planning an incursion into one of the Empire's capital's districts, Akusho, and the establishment of a small base there with minimum personnel. When Sugawara and every other diplomatic personnel will go to negotiate the peace and terms with the Empire, he will have a safe house and troops ready to intervene should things go south.

Secondly, he was in the middle of smuggling the bodies of some dead mages through the gate. He did his best to hide this and coordinated accordingly with the boys back home. He didn't like it one bit. A necessary thing to do, of course, but not a pleasant one. If they will ever fight again the mages they will need effective countermeasures. In open field they can deal little damage because you spot them from far away, but up close in forests and mountainous area… that was a whole other story.

Thirdly, after the establishment of some commercial locations at Italica and Alnus, civilians were coming and going to and from both locations. He kept a good no man's zone between the military base and the civilian district. Slowly, the Coda refugees were building an inn and a forge for their smith. Then there was the constant traffic of convoys between Italica and Alnus and between Italica and the 1st EAA at Bravil. LtCol Robert Lee, the CO of the British contingent, was busy with escorting the convoys, pacifying the province from the fewer and fewer bandits and garrisoning Italica and the newly built base outside the town's walls.

The military boasted its numbers in the Special Region. Every country replaced its casualties and sent some more. Italy now has an effective of 750 troops. Germany increased its numbers to 2500, Canada to 2500 as well, the United Kingdom has 2000 troops and they are thinking of appointing a colonel as the CO for the larger contingent, The United States of America now has a force of 3000 strong and the CO of the US troops, former LtCol O'Neill, is promoted. Now Col O'Neill.

Hazama has to prepare the ground for the arrival of the 500 South Korean marines. After one South Korean citizen was liberated from slavery by RCT3, the man presumed dead and missing in the Ginza Incident, the democratic southern half of the peninsula sends troops into the Special Region. With every other allied country boasting their presence to make sure they get what they desire, that being resources, there are now 10750 soldiers of countries allied with Japan. The country of the rising sun ( **AN:** no offense meant here, I want to avoid repeating Japan so many times) has a comparable number of troops, somewhere around 12000.

Now, Yanagida brings Hazama more things to think about as he enters the office with documents in his right hand.

"Lt Yanagida, please… don't make it worse." the leader said.

"Is not much, sir, I promise. Have a look over these." Yanagida says and hands a few papers to Hazama.

The older man goes over them and frowns. "Is this for real, Lt?" he asked with surprise and frustration.

"I'm afraid so, sir."

"Why the hell does everybody want to send reenactors to the Special Region? What kind of uselessness is this?" Hazama barked, furious on the implications. "I mean, it would be great and good and all that nice stuff if they would come after the things have settled down but right now we are still in the frying pan."

"If Princess Pina sets the ground for the negotiations it will be fine, sir. It will also help improve relations between the two worlds by tearing down some cultural barriers and such. It might help to show them our world was once like theirs." Yanagida stated in an attempt to comfort his superior.

"I know that, Yanagida. The problem is that now it's not the best moment for it. This can wait until we sign a peace treaty and deem it safe for… for 'tourism'…" Hazama says and takes a break for a second before going on again. "How stupid that sounds… We will have to keep them safe. Should anything happen to them, we will be the ones responsible. Sometimes the politicians, Japanese or foreign from the U.N., have the most stupid ideas. Makes you question how they get so far in their careers. Alright, tell me every group they thought about."

Yanagida looks through the papers he kept in his hand and finds what he was looking for. He then starts reading from a small list. "We have a group of ancient Greek enthusiasts for a start, 30 hoplites to be precise. Then there are the guys from Nova Roma in cooperation with the reenactors of Legio XXI Rapax who will represent Rome and they will send a century of 80+ men. After that come the samurai with just 20 men. Kind of shallow from us if you ask me, sir. And for cavalry, we have a small group of 10 medieval European knights, an unspecified number of cuirassiers from the Napoleonic era, and last but not least, there is a group of 50 Polish-Lithuanian Winged Hussars."

Hazama leaned back in his chair and held his arms crossed. "Did any of these people come with the bright idea of requesting permission to perform to the natives here?"

"No, sir. The U.N. approached them and made the offer. They were more than happy to accept and are already packing to leave for Japan. They want them to make an appearance at the peace negotiations in the capital, Sadera. There are more plans revolving around the topic of cultural exchange. This is just the start of it. There are plans to bring in theater acts, small cinemas and all that kind of things."

"They couldn't wait until this was taken care of…" Hazama complained once more. "Alright… I take it they'll come with Sugawara, right?" to which Yanagida gave a nod. "If they get bored they will have to perform to the civilians here and to our soldiers. They can even go to Italica if they want to and if it is possible. But to Sadera they will go only with the main diplomatic corp."

General Hazama signs and fills the papers needed. He then dismisses Yanagida and returns to the more pressing matters at hand.

* * *

 **Special Region, Telta Imperial Garrison HQ**

 _D-Day + 55 days, midday_

The city of Telta is a major strategic stronghold for the Empire. The big urban conglomeration is situated along the Row, with the river Etna to her east, Sadera southwest and the Mountain Range of Ice and Snow to the north. It is also another important node of main roads used for commerce, traveling or troop deployments, the equivalent of Italica in the eastern parts of the country.

The city was built on both sides of the Row and separated into two halves. They were linked by a large bridge and both were defended by high walls on every side. The markets were bustling with merchants and customers of every race. They were all going on with their usual lives unaware of the things to come and not caring of what is going on. War always seemed a distant far away thing you never worry about until it comes to your door.

An Imperial general, commanding officer of the garrison of Telta, a city defended by an entire legion, was proudly looking outside the window of the garrison's HQ at his subordinates. He received news about the latest developments in the Empire's war with the invaders from another world. But his job was to keep the province between Sadera and the northern independent province under check.

His momentary peace of mind was shattered when he heard hurried steps on the hallway. They were closing in. A short dialogue just outside the general's quarters and a soldier comes in.

"What is it?" he asked.

"General! Bad news! One of the main checkpoints was attacked and left in ruins. The small garrison killed to the last man." the footman reported. He was sweating beneath his chest plate.

The general was taken aback by the news. Who would attack them? The invaders were on the other side of the Row and the mountains as far as he knew. He had to inquire more. "When and how did the news arrive?"

"A caravan was making its way from Bellnahgo to Telta. They arrived at the checkpoint and found it ruined, smoking, dead soldiers of the Empire left to rot under the Sun. They sent two riders ahead to warn a regiment stationed near a bridge over the Row in the countryside. News arrived by raven and I came to report as soon as I've read it. Here is the message itself, my lord!"

The general took the small paper and read its content. Then he sat down and looked over a map to see exactly where the checkpoint was located. A fist fell hard on the table. "Who could strike this deep in the Empire's territory without even hearing about them? Hm… Why are you still here?" he asked the poor soldier.

"Because I still have something to report, my lord. One of the scouting parties came back this morning. I thought their observations were not relevant to the matter at hand until we received the message about the attack on the checkpoint. Their full report will be here as soon as possible. But they… they said that they spotted a column of strange horseless carts moving very fast. At the lead was a huge monster, an elephant they said. They were all trying to conceal themselves by using green paint. They may be responsible for the attack. They are headed north and have circumnavigated Telta yesterday."

"Soldier, get me that report as soon as you can. And get me the senior commander of the cavalry. I want to catch those bastards, they can't get away with this! Leave now, you are dismissed."

"Yes, my lord general!"

The soldier left the general alone who was writing down orders and messages to dispatch further on along the ranks. This will turn out to be a new hunting trip for him. Whoever it was responsible for it, he was determined to bring them to justice.

* * *

 **Special Region, Mountain Range of Ice and Snow**

 _D-Day + 55 days, evening_

After finally getting out of the heartland of the mountainous regions of the north and into the warmer southern parts, Alia and Alistair were resting under what was once a small temple dedicated to the order of the Frost Guard. Now, after everybody fled the countryside or died at Hardy's demons hands, the temple is abandoned. It once housed a small garrison of Alia's order of warriors. Now it served as a temporary shelter for the two on their journey south.

It was already night when they arrived. Alia had to use the very basic fire magic she learned from her father to light a torch and see what was inside.

"Looks like there still is some firewood in here." Alistair noted.

"That will come in handy. Look, the beds are in a very good shape. We can finally sleep on something decent for a change." Alia said with an excited voice.

Alistair slowly took steps into the dark rooms. There was a main hall from the entrance and it had a few large rooms. The first one on the left were the sleeping quarters, it was followed by a kitchen large enough to accommodate the former small garrison. There was also an armory, a small library and a large training room. The smallest of the rooms was dedicated to the religious practices of every warrior.

Alistair took note of the architecture. There was a mix of medieval and ancient roman with traces of the local equivalent of Japanese designs. He liked it. _'If only this place had a warm atmosphere to it…'_ he thought.

They finally set up in the sleeping quarters. Alia lit up a fire to keep her warm and prepared two beds. They were a bit dusty but nothing she couldn't handle or complain about. They sat together by the fireplace. Alistair was staring into the orange flames, Alia was inspecting her gear she neatly arranged on the floor. They were less than a meter from each other.

Finally, the silence between the two was broken when she spoke. "So, Al… what are you thinking about?"

Alistair snapped out of his thoughts. He turned his head her way. "I… I was thinking about many things. Was it that obvious I was in thought?"

"Mhm!" she let out with a somewhat melodic voice. "What had you so trapped in your mind?"

He slowly took off his black military helmet and put it down to his side. His hair stopped growing. His beard stopped growing. It was as if he was suspended in time, his body was the same since the deadly encounter with Giselle. Only the eyes were changing as time went on. Their gaze was radiating experience and determination and a look many at his age don't have. Or most living souls don't have. Then he took off his knee and elbow pads and gloves. The last one he took off was his bulletproof military issue armor.

"Been thinking about many things, girl. Mostly of the future or things I can't find the right words to explain right now…"

She gave him a contemplating look. "Then say every word that comes to your mind."

Alistair sighed and decided to play along before she would start to bombard him with questions and guesses. "Alright… Death, life, me, you, confused, Hardy, situation, memories of past life before dying, purpose… Girl, I think I am losing bits of myself… I remember fewer and fewer things. I forgot my father's face…"

Alia put her steel helmet down, her sad eyes locked on the floor. "That's… really unfortunate. I don't know how I could ever forget my ma's and pa's faces. Her soft voice…"

Alistair noticed a tear running down her cheek. He came closer and hugged her, slowly letting her head fall on his chest. "They'll always be with you in your heart. They are not truly dead as long as somebody still remembers them." he almost whispered in her ear.

"That is what my pa told me when mom died. _She will always live as long as you live and remember her._ Sometimes I'm wondering if it really is worth living in this world."

He gave her a flip on the head to which she growled but didn't say anything. "Don't you dare think that kind of nonsense. You better not make me drag you back from the other world."

"And if I don't want to come back?"

"That's why I said I'll drag you."

Alia smiled at his response and played with her dark blue hair like when she was a child. Then her eyes fell on the black katana in her companion's possession. "You never told me what actually happened with you… You're really scary sometimes. And then there's your katana and you wield it almost as if you trained with it for many years."

Alistair sighed, closed his eyes and mentally facepalmed himself. _'What the hell do I tell her?'_ he asked himself.

" _The truth would be best, soldier."_ that familiar deep voice in his mind replied.

' _And how can I do that? I don't even know the full details…'_

" _Then let me do the talking this time."_

' _Wha-'_ and he lost his trail of thoughts as his mind felt tired.

"Al..?" Alia said when he stood silent for a minute now.

He opened his eyes and his head immediately turned a bit to the right and gazed into her pupils. She suddenly felt uneasy as if something paranormal was after her and leapt back and stumbled a bit.

"What… Al!" she shouted unsure and uneasy.

"Why are you afraid? I mean you no harm. Quite on the contrary, I am here to give you the answers you seek." he said with his usual voice. It may be Alistair's voice but it is not him who is talking. It's the entity that resides in his mind and body, two souls sharing the same vessel.

"Who are you? Where is Al?"

"I am the one who gave him the strength to save your life from Hardy's apostle. Calm down, your heart is beating too vigorously right now."

"Where is my friend!?"

"He went to sleep. He was tired from the journey. I will answer your questions if you have more of them. But be brief for I don't like intervening like this. I am more of a spectator to the show."

Alia recollected herself and calmed down. He radiated many things but the intention of killing, of harming was not among them.

"Who are you? No tricks, no riddles… who are you?"

"Hmm. Good question. I don't know how to answer without making it sound like a riddle. I'm the neverthere, what should not exist according to any law known to mortal kind, I am my own master among masters of souls, I am a conglomerate of souls. I was always there, watching every branch of existence grow and take other paths with its ramifications. I am something hard to explain in words and impossible to show you without your mind melting down from the huge amount of information, thoughts and feelings."

"Alright… how did you bring him back? I saw him die!" Alia almost shouted. "It's not right to return back to life."

"Did you want it otherwise?" he asked her and the silence that fell answered his question. "I thought so. He isn't aware of what I'm telling you and won't be unless you bring it up. He doesn't want you to bother yourself about him but make sure you are doing well. It was the most relevant objective he had on his mind and it became his directive after I took him "under my roof" – save the girl with the dark blue hair. And how I did it? I have aces up my sleeve, as he would say."

"Why did you make him immortal?" she continued her inquiry.

"It is not forever. He can't die because he is dead. Neither will he be here forever." her interlocutor answered.

"He will be stuck here if this goes on. He will live forever, he's immortal!"

Now his eyes saddened at those words. "Immortality is not you living forever. Immortality is everyone else dying…" he said. "I will not let him go through that horrible experience. One last question."

"Right… do you have any name?"

"No. But I would be contempt with… Damocles. That was all. Now listen to me and listen well. You will soon meet his friends and your journey will be much more interesting. I kept Hardy's demons away from you during your travels to easy your journey. I want to see the spectacle to come. So keep going you two. And I ask you on both our behalf not to reveal to anybody this secret. His and mine."

And with that last proposition, Alistair's body fell to the ground, asleep.

* * *

 **Sadera, Casel's home**

 _D-Day + 56 days_

The leader of the Empire's Senate, senator Casel, also a member of the doves – or those who want to sue for peace with Japan – summoned his fellow senators who see things like he does.

There were not many of them. But things would change soon. Most of them were past their mid ages. The youngest person attending the meeting was Sherry Tyueli's father, senator Tyueli.

"Casel, what do you have?" asked a man.

"I called for this meeting to share with you everything I know about the ongoing hostilities with the nations beyond the gate." Casel said.

"Nations?" someone asked.

"Yes. The main force is the army of a country called Japan. The gate opened in their lands and they were the ones attacked by us. Then, when they invaded our lands, they received help from their allies. If you are asking how I know this, I got the information from Lord Adranos."

This time Sherry's father asked, straight to the point. "What can we do to get more senators on our side?"

Casel drank his tea before listing everything he knows. "Right. The situation is as it follows. General Tasius was taken prisoner and his legion was scattered, some surrendered and others retreated. General Titus surrendered to the enemy and saved the bulk of the 6th Legion. They are not treated as prisoners but more as guests from what I've been told. Princess Pina was with them and she will come with Titus in the capital in around a week. I see every hot blooded man in the Senate or Army is relaxing and there won't be any senseless fighting between Titus and them. Pina will prepare the Jade Palace as the ground for peace talks. She will also be able to release a fixed number of prisoners immediately. We know some warmongering colleagues whose sons or good friends have not returned from the other side of the gate and we will use this as a bargaining chip on them."

"So we should focus on learning who would change his mind if a relative or acquaintance was to be released from captivity in exchange for their vote."

"Exactly. The sooner we end this, the better for all of us." Casel stated.

"What of the Emperor?" Tyueli asked.

"Lord Adranos assured me that Emperor Molt will not intervene. He will let us do our work, a conflict between the ruling bodies of the Empire being the last thing we need. We must also make sure nobody else knows about the Princess' endeavor, least she will be branded a traitor by the pro war faction of the Senate and the hot blooded legates or generals."

"Casel, what about Zorzal and Diabo? They are a big unknown in this matter, a wildcard."

"Ah, them… Well, Diabo will do anything to be named crown prince. He might even join us if that makes his father have a better opinion about him. But we must also be weary of treachery from him. Zorzal is whoring his way through life, to quote Adranos. He will try to halt our progress and let his stubborn and stupid overgrown pride of his get in the way. If anything, we must keep Zorzal at bay. Even if that means serving him a whore." Casel coldly said.

"That man abuses every woman… I don't want to imagine what Tyuule is going through."

"For the greater good… But I promise you, fellow senators, that Zorzal will one day pay for his terrible deeds. You reap what you sow. If there isn't anything else… this is all I got from Adranos to share with you. Let us get to scouting the terrain and setting up our cards on the deck."

* * *

 **Sadera, Zorzal's mansion cellar**

 _Meanwhile_

The eldest possible heir to the throne, Zorzal El Caesar, who when not having fun with his sex slaves and was out sparring with his entourage, kept the poor women locked in his cellar in miserable conditions.

The women kidnaped from Earth were mostly beaten and had many bruises. They weren't having enough food either and they shared everything they got. Their pride as a free soul living in a modern world where prejudice and tyranny was not a heavy presence as it is in the Special Region made them oppose Zorzal's attempts of having his way with them with such fierceness he had to think twice. The guards, the prince and his friends took a liking to beating them on a regular basis.

In another room was Tyuule. She sat alone in her uncomfortable bed but she grew accustomed to it. For too long she was abused like that. But she found comfort in the idea that her people were spared from such treatment. Little did she know Zorzal's promise not to touch the other Warrior Bunnies was a lie and soon many would be executed or sold into slavery.

"If only this horrible life would end…" she said to no one in particular.

"It can be arranged…" a feminine voice said from the shadows of the dark room. Tyuule's ears moved in every direction, fruitlessly trying to find the source of the voice.

She narrowed her eyes. She was weakened by the treatment she was subjected to but she could still hold her own if things got bad. A Warrior Bunny is named so for a good reason. "Who is there?" she asked with authority.

From the opposite wall's darkness a feminine figure with wings revealed itself. It spoke as it came closer. "Queen Tyuule of the Warrior Bunny tribes… not so much of a queen now…"

"Who are you?" Tyuule asked her. The figure came into the dim light. Tyuule's eyes grew wide when she noticed her features. Blue skin, draconic wings and legs, white hair and clothing. No mistake – a demihuman but not an ordinary one. "You-… You are Hardy's apostle. What brings you here? Nobody summoned your accursed name here!"

Giselle was back. She smiled with her overconfident mischievous smirk. "You two legged, walking stew meat have been obliterated. Now I am here to end your horrible life as you just wished moments ago."

"My people wer-" Tyuule wanted to protest but Giselle cut her short.

"They were what!? Not killed, subjugated, sold into slavery and abused by everyone? You must be a fool to believe what that prince told you" she said. Tyuule's eyes widened, she clearly refused to believe her folk was not doing well and that her sacrifice was in vain. "Don't deny it. You know it is true. Now, to get to your wish. Know that you will not truly die… yet!"

Giselle reached with her right hand for Tyuule's head who just stood there, frozen. "Now you will obey me and my mistress' commands. Lose yourself with the despair in your eyes. Queen Tyuule is no more…"

She brings out claws from where her nails would be, she brings her right hand down and thrusts with speed her claws upwards into Tyuule's jaws. Blood comes out from her wounds. The claws were long and sharp enough to pierce through her bones and into the brain, killing her. Blood shot out of her nose and eyes and mouth. Giselle pulled her claws out of her head and let her body fall on the ground, staining it red with blood.

"So much for Queen Tyuule… Damn, I got turned on again. I always have a soft spot for beautiful women on the brink of death." the apostle said with a soft and low voice. She then spoke a strange language, what one would guess to be the words for a magic spell.

When she was finished, Tyuule's body reanimated and got back on her feet. Her wounds closed and the blood on the floor simply overheated and turned to steam.

"Who are you?" Giselle asked her.

Tyuule's reanimated body moved her jaws, adjusting herself. "I am your servant."

"Who do you serve? What are you in public and what are you in reality?" Giselle continued.

"I serve Hardy, Goddess of the Underworld, and her apostle, Giselle. I am Tyuule, Zorzal's slave. I am a demon of deceit, of plots and debauchery." Tyuule's body replied.

"Good. You know what you have to do."

"Yes, mistress." she said before Giselle vanished.

* * *

 **Special Region, 1** **st** **EAA HQ**

 _D-Day + 57 days_

Brigadier General Karl Dietrich was going over the reports. He got reinforcements to consolidate his positions. Although not every 10750 soldiers of Japan's allies were under his command, he still got a sizeable force. Most of the soldiers were still stationed at Alnus or at Italica awaiting deployment, action of any kind.

Dietrich consolidated his positions on the eastern side of the Duma Mountains where he stationed half of his men. Losing the entrance to the pass would mean another bloody battle with the Empire's forces. He couldn't afford any. The people back home were protesting in the streets against sending more troops into the Special Region after the terrible losses they sustained.

There were also those who lost sons, brothers or husbands in the battles who were in the streets. Japan, UK, Italy and Germany were losing popularity with the masses and had to watch their every step. Politicians were called to resign by the people and others took their place, people with agendas not coinciding with the army's efforts in the foreign world.

The leadership was pushing for peace talks and lessening the tensions. But Hazama and the other military leaders from Earth knew better, they were taking their time with it. The U.N. and anyone else could cry as much as they wanted, they were not taking unnecessary risks right now.

Dietrich had his hands tied with the new political situation back home. When he took a break from reading reports or issuing orders, Pina and Titus walked in.

"General, Princess… can I help you with something?" he asked them.

"General, me and the Princess will take our leave. We have readied our troops and will return to the capital." Titus informed him.

"Thank you for your efforts, General. I will do my best to turn the Empire from an enemy into a friend of your world." Pina said.

Dietrich smiled. "Then I wish you safe travels. I don't know how much I can help you after you leave. Take care and let us know when to send an official representative."

"Yes, thank you. Farewell. I hope the next time we meet we won't be friends only behind the curtains." Pina said and walked out.

"Farewell, General. We will keep in touch. Might take us a week to get to Sadera so you won't be hearing too soon from us. I hope Tasius is safe here." Titus said and walked out too.


	32. Ch 32 - Reunion

**AN:** Hello! I am sorry for updating this late but I had a lot of work to do in the past two weeks and started my finals. Horribly failed my very first exam though… Well, I hope you will like this chapter, even if I find it kind of forced in. I wanted to bring you a new update as soon as possible but I fear it might not be up to your expectations. Also, I want to post fewer but longer chapters. Enjoy this one for now!

 **The Tundra Fox:** Yes, more nations will join - South Korea. Not sure about others, though.

 **Kaz21:** Hello and thanks for reading :D I will, but there's still a little to go before that scene.

* * *

 **Chapter 32: Reunion**

* * *

 _'Entry XV:_

 _Humans are such an interesting species… even those who we cheer as good people for helping each other are nothing more than selfish freaks who help others just because the opposite makes them feel bad.'_

* * *

 **Special Region, unknown location**

 _D-Day + 57 days_

A large cavalry unit of the Empire's military was tracking down RCT3 after they got news of an attack on an important checkpoint. The troublemakers must be captured or put down as soon as possible.

They were double timing to catch up but there was so much a horse can go without being exhausted. The commanding officer was pushing his men and horses to their limits.

"Faster! Faster, you worthless bastards!" he kept crying out in anger.

"Sir! We can't move on further! The horses and men are about to fall down…"

He growled at his subordinate's obvious remark. "Alright, you old hags! Get some rest! If the scouts are right, we'll catch them tonight when they make camp."

* * *

 **Special Region, south off the Mountain Range of Ice and Snow**

 _D-Day + 57 days_

They were still walking, now already in the Empire's territories. They crossed the border yesterday morning. The warmer climate was a nice change and the snow was now but a distant color on the distant peaks and mountains slopes.

Alia had to take down one lair of clothing she was wearing underneath that armor and clothing. Now she was walking by Alistair's side. There were no people on the roads. But that would soon change when they came across an Imperial foot patrol.

One of the Imperial soldiers raised a hand to signal them to stop. The patrol and the two intrepid heroes were walking in different directions, thus they met face to face.

"Halt! Who are you and where are you going?" he inquired.

Alia exchanged a quick look with Alistair before stepping forward and speaking in a fluent common of the Empire. "I'm a warrior of the Frost and this here is my companion. We are traveling south."

Alistair was tense. He kept his eyes on the soldiers who stayed two meters behind their leader who was conversing with Alia. The footmen were trying to avoid eye contact with him.

"What is one of the Frost and her friend seeking in the south?" he asked with a skeptical tone.

"That is our business, soldier. All you need to know is that we don't come here looking for trouble." she informed him.

"Strange… First, almost nobody comes or goes into the Mountain Range for a month now and then there is an attack on one of our checkpoints, those suspected of being guilty spotted fleeing north. You have to come with a more convincing argument if you don't want to be arrested."

Alia couldn't help but notice how her interlocutor was carrying himself with diplomacy. She straightened herself. "I assure you, good man, we had no knowledge of this until now. We're here on more personal business, not laying the foundation for an invasion."

"I can't take your word for it. The iron chariots were making their way north last time we heard. Please surrender every weapon in your possession and come with us…" the leader of the group said.

Alistair jumped a bit on his toes when he heard of the iron chariots. They could only belong to the JSDF or their allies. He had to make contact with them somehow. He walked near Alia as soon as he recollected his thoughts. The British stared intently at the Imperial soldier who was doing the talking, not taller than he is.

"Listen, soldier. We are not here to cause trouble. Quite on the contrary, what we want to accomplish can very well benefit your precious little Empire too. But for that, we need to get going. So why don't you understand that we knew nothing about this until you told us and let us walk on our merry ways? No bloody bullshitting with you representing the law and that we can't harm you. I am more than capable of killing every single one of your bunch over there. Let's not get to that…"

In that moment, the Imperial took a hold of his sword's hilt and was about to shout an order. _'Don't do it. Don't do it, you idiot!'_ Alistair kept repeating to himself as his eyes followed the soldier's hand slowly drawing his sword out of its scabbard.

Alistair takes out his M1911 and gives it to Alia before pushing her back to shield her with his body. Then, he distracted the patrol leader with his left hand and gave him a knocking out punch with his right one. The other 7 men drew out their swords and formed a line immediately. They pushed forward to put themselves between their KO-ed friend and the two foreigners who were not cooperating at all.

"Let's be civilized about this…" Alia tried to defuse the tension that was building up.

"They ain't gonna listen to us. Not after I put their buddy cold and flat on his arse." Alistair said while letting down his backpack and drawing out his blade off its large scabbard on his back. He flipped his large katana through the air before taking a fighting stance.

The Imperial soldiers were advancing carefully. "Lay down your sword and surrender!" one of them ordered the two.

Alia reached for her katana, took it out and stepped forward to be able to aid Alistair. Better have the sword at the ready for when the pistol isn't useful. But he blocked her with his right hand. "No, girl. Stay back."

"Don't-"

"Stay back!" he said louder and turned to look at her. "Please…" he almost begged her.

Alia saw his eyes almost like a puppy's, but mixed with determination and a strong resolve. She just stared at him for a moment as the troopers came closer. Then, she stepped a bit back. "I'll take care of those who get past you" she said. She also remembered what the spirit named Damocles told her.

"I see there is no reasoning with you, barbarians…" one said.

Alistair made ready to swing his sword sideways when the voice in his head spoke again. _"Booorriing! Let's make things more interesting."_

"What!? No!" he shouted out loud.

"That's what I said!" the Imperial said, thinking he was talking to them.

Alistair was getting pissed off. "Shut your trap! I wasn't talking to you!"

Alia narrowed her eyes at her friend but kept her guard up, ready to intercept any foe and take him down. _'He must be talking with that creepy thing inside of him…'_ she thought.

Meanwhile in Alistair mind, an angry immaterial voice was scolding Damocles. _'You bastard, don't even think of it!'_

" _I already did. Too late. Watch out!"_ and Alistair was pushed back with a shield bash.

' _You bloody bastard!'_

" _You might want to get it over with them because there's more trouble on the way. I feel like I want something interesting to see today."_

Then, a shriek filled the skies. An unnatural, not of a normal animal or bird… a shriek Alistair and Alia knew all too well. It came from north. Everyone turned their attention towards the northern sky. And again, the same cry of a beast but longer.

' _Blimey!'_ the Brit cursed without physical voice. "You cheeky bastard! This is what you find entertaining!?"

Alia turned her attention to him again, a distressed look on her otherwise warm and beautiful face. Alistair nodded to her. The latter took advantage of the surprised soldiers of the Empire when he twisted his body to the right, both hands on the black katana's hilt. Then, the blade came crushing on a sideways trajectory on the Imperials, the force he put in the blow was enough to utterly ruin a shield and throw them all down from their collective formation.

He immediately turned around, put the katana in the scabbard on his back, took the backpack off the ground and rushed at Alia and took her in his arms and dashed in a wild run towards south. He was so quick that his female companion was taken by surprise. He was running faster than he thought it was possible before he met Giselle and returned to life with supernatural powers.

"A- Al! Wh- What a-are you do-i-ing!?" she asked him still dazed.

"I ain't staying here," and took another breath between his quick steps "we both know what trouble is headed our way."

"We can't leave th- them there!"

"I ain't even arguing with you on this…"

"And how on this good earth would the demons return? And straight at us? He said he kept them away from us!" Alia said, her words tangling with the heavy sounds of footsteps and armor and the backpack clinging. Only when he threw her a questioning look did she realize she let her tongue slip. _'Crap!'_

"We will have to talk about that…" he said with the most serious voice he could muster at the moment. Behind them, the same shriek of a winged demon filled the air and was shortly followed by many other shrieks. "Must be every damn demon left in the mountains, now on our six! How the hell did they track us down!?"

"He said.. you… he… the one in your head said that he kept them away but I guess he had more in store than he let us know." She told him.

" _She is smart, you know?"_

' _Why the sudden change in your attitude, you bastard?'_

Silence. The voice didn't say anything anymore. He kept running with her in his hands for a while now. He cursed every time between his breaths their bad luck. After a while and couple kilometers, they reached an area with clumps of trees scattered around. He came to a sudden halt under an oak's leafs.

"Ehm… Al, you can put me down now…" Alia said after tapping on his shoulder to get his attention.

He locked eyes with her for a few moments. He was somewhat confused and tired. Then it hit him – he just ran several kilometers as fast as he could with a woman geared in steel armor in his arms, a backpack and a large katana on his back. He had to admit that he didn't even realize that, he felt like running as usual – perk of benefiting from some supernatural powers given to you by a mysterious entity who resides within you.

He slowly let her feet touch the grass below. "I… I'm sorry, girl…" he apologized as he fell on the grass and leaned against the tree.

"That was …really unexpected for a start. And impressing. I should stop being impressed by you, considering the… the new "skills" you got…" she said.

"I have moments when I'm asking myself if this was worth it. But then I realize I don't give a damn when I remember why I chose to become… this."

Alia sat down beside him, her head between her knees and looking at the soft grass. "I'm sorry, Al…"

He turned with a confused look. "What? What are you sorry for?" he asked her.

Alia shifted her head and met his eyes. "For dragging you into this… You know… I'm actually happy you're still here, even with that… thing in you…" her voice trailing off and almost sobbing. "I know I'm a horrible person, Al… don't even deny it!" and she pointed a finger when he was about to say something. "I didn't want to lose anyone else after this whole bloodbath started. I'm glad you're still here… all because I'm a horrible person and can't take this shit for too long…"

Alistair noticed the tears forming in her eyes. He immediately put his right hand around her shoulders, took her helmet off and rested her head in his embrace. "You know, girl… I think I understand what you want to say." he comforted her in his embrace. "Not like I want to get into too much philosophy, but we are all bad people if we go by your argument."

Alia, her eyes still facing down, asked him. "How so?"

"Well, nobody wants to be hurt. Nobody wants to lose. Every human is extremely selfish. Do you know why we actually help somebody we care about? Or even give our lives for them?"

She slightly shook her head, he gave the answer. "Because we don't want to suffer, we don't want to feel bad when we see them hurt. Because, somewhere deep down in our souls and hearts, we only care about our own person. And it hurts us to see them hurt. And we, in the end, help them because of our selfish desire to be at peace. We don't truly do it for somebody else, we do it for ourselves, for us to feel better. Even if that means giving your life…" and he held her face in his palms and smiled.

She smiled as she wiped the tears off her face and eyes. "It surprises me to hear these words coming from you."

"Eh, what can I say? There is a lot more to a person than they let the world know. We all have masks hiding our whole beings under the more… regular personality one manifests. I'm a soldier and a monster and a war criminal. But that doesn't mean I've got nothing more than that to myself."

"So… does it mean you never cared about me and you did all that just for you to feel better?" Alia asked.

He let out a hum. "The reason why I did that is because I would have felt like shit if you died at Giselle's hand. Because I care about you more than it is healthy for me. I'm just as selfish as anyone else. Because I don't want to feel like shit for not saving the people I care about. An egoistic state that benefits others."

"… I prefer your regular self." she said and chuckled.

"Shush now. Take a break, we'll need to get moving and be ahead of Hardy's little blood bangers. I have a feeling they are heading right for us."

* * *

 **BBC World News**

 _Meanwhile_

"Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the latest edition of _'Reports from the Special Region'_ , where we show you various reports sent back by the two reporter teams and we discuss what we have seen. Without further ado, today we have a collage of different interviews. From military personnel, both Earth soldiers and Imperial, to civilians living their lives." the news anchor announced.

" **From the Soldiers' Eyes"**

The screen changed from the woman to a green field. The green and golden fields or crops, wheat and grass were quickly passing by due to the speed the APC was going at. It was an Italian APC, one of those who got away without being immobilized or crippled by sustained magic attacks from the Empire's wizards in the fighting that took place in the mountains of Duma.

The camera then shifted to capture the Italian flag flying in the wind. Then, Arlette came into view. She was wearing her usual blue bulletproof vest and a helmet. She brought the microphone to her mouth and focused on the camera.

"Good day to everybody back home who is following us right now in front of the TVs. It is me again, bringing you another story from the Special Region. It has been almost two weeks since the Battle of Duma Mountains, an engagement between the Empire's 7th and 6th Legions, and the 1st Earth Allied Army under the command of Brigadier General Karl Dietrich of the Bundeswehr. A battle which took the lives of just over 1,000 lives on our side and more than 10,000 on the Empire's side.

Here we have Sergeant Savio, crew member of an M113 APC. Like every Italian soldier, he took part in the brutal clashes between the 4th Italian Alpini Battalion and the soldiers of… the 7th Legion _Legacy of Godasen_. What can you tell us about the battle, Sgt?"

The man who looked like he just hit his 30s didn't smile too much when Arlette introduced him. And the little smile he tried to put on totally vanished when he heard the question, memories flooding his mind. He kept his composure and readjusted his helmet over his head.

"It was terrible. We were attacked with magic spells, arrows and even monsters. They preferred night attacks and were even harassing us in between with long range archer fire. Our snipers did their best but they didn't give us many chances to rest. If we didn't keep a constant watch, we'd find us overwhelmed." he answered.

"Did you take part in the battle on the very front lines?"

"Not the very front lines. Our APC couldn't advance too much onto the forested mountain slope. We were reinforcing the most affected sectors, especially those who were showing signs of being breached. And there were a lot of those occasions. We were also tasked with keeping the pass secure of enemy infantry. One of our earliest missions was to link up with the reinforcements after the Alpini were isolated and the JSDF bogged down.

Our Allies were literally advancing at a snail's pace due to the constant presence of enemy mages. We tried to link up with the JSDF or the Americans but after we left the Italian controlled sector of the pass, we were ambushed and couldn't make it up to the JSDF or American controlled sectors.

One of our APCs was hit by some sort of Greek fire type of a fireball. It came right from above our heads and slammed on the top of the M113. There were open hatches and the fire spread inside. The crew burned to their death and the vehicle was totally wrecked when the ammo cooked off."

Arlette felt uneasy when her imagination kicked in and she saw with the eyes of the mind the scenes the soldier described. She swallowed a bit hard. He noticed her reaction. "Don't worry, miss. We took good care of most of their battle mages. Without their leader who was captured by us, and with rapidly dwindling numbers of magic wielders, we can say we won the day."

"So I take it the armored corps of the Army had it just as rough? I remember seeing a wrecked Type 74 in the closing day of the battle."

"We had it better. We wanted to go in there, get stuck and fight the enemy just like our infantry did. They faced ogres and goblins among regular troopers and battlemages. The Germans and Canadians on the northern flank of the pass came in contact with armored trolls. Nasty things, tell you that. A troll was able to clear four foxholes of Canadian soldiers before somebody fired a SMAW at it." Sgt Savio said.

"Were the bullets unable to put the beast down?" Arlette inquired.

"Some just bounced off its thick armor plates and those that pierced the armor didn't have enough energy to pierce deep into the troll's body and cause significant damage. Needless to say, they are very resilient. Good thing they didn't have many of those. The Empire employs many auxiliary troops, some most unconventional."

The image then changed again and showed soldiers maintaining their weapons and vehicles. Many were smiling, those were the newcomers. The battle tested ones were more serious. There was a scene where they showed a German soldier suffering of , a series of images played with Arlette's voice on the background.

"Sgt Savio dropped us at Bravil, the city where the battle actually started and where the 1st EAA has its field HQ. The population is still getting used to the presence of our soldiers. Together, we are rebuilding the town, repairing the damages done. While there still are those who oppose us and regard us as invaders, which is true, most of the locals have accepted us.

Many happened in a very short span of time, battles and invasions being the order of the day. With the appearance of necrophags in the mountains due to the large number of fallen Imperial soldiers, many still left unburied, convoys have been strengthened and clearance parties have been formed to hunt the beasts down. According to the local lore, the necrophags feast on corpses and they are a common occurrence after a battle.

They are extremely aggressive and will attack what they consider to be food on sight, either alone or in packs. Thus, the command deemed it necessary to hunt down known concentrations of necrophags and consolidate defenses around Bravil and the pass through the mountains. As soon as the surrounding area is declared secure, we will bring you more interviews and footage of the people who took part in the recent military engagement and right from the place where they fought."

" **People of the Special Region"**

The screen then changed to show another report, this one submitted by the second team of correspondents tasked with documenting the more everyday life of the Empire's population. Habits, traditions, personal experiences, history, economy, religion, you name it. They showed an interview with Countess Myui and several knights of Pina's Rose Order of Knights. There was also talk about slavery, a particular subject the viewers didn't particularly approve of. How they would lose their minds if they'd learn about Zorzal…

* * *

 **Special Region, RCT3 location**

 _D-Day + 57 days, evening_

The night was once more throwing its shroud over the world and the moon the light it reflected from the Sun. The singing birds fell silent, the day ceased to live and the nocturnal was resurrected as was the natural order.

"… and so it was that me and Mimoza, the mage, escaped the labyrinth of death!" Rory finished one of her stories, more exactly her adventure with Mimoza, Arpeggio's teacher at the magic university in Rondel, around a campfire with every member of RCT3.

"I must say, Apostle, that is quite entertaining. A fine adventure." Inigo told her.

"Hey, Inigo! Tell us something about your adventures on Falmart. You said you used to be a sellsword and an adventurer with a group of friends." Kurata asked of the wolf man.

Inigo chuckled. "I told you one when we were riding your… cars. Now that me and Rory have told a story, what about you? You guys surely must have something to say."

"Ah, well… you see, we don't usually have much of adventuring and rich stories to tell like the two of you. While our world might seem exciting at first, it isn't much." Tomita answered, hoping to get them to share more of their experiences.

"Crap talk! Come on, someone must have something good to share." Inigo pushed on.

Erwin felt like this was his moment. "I might have some good things to share with y'all."

Shino rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. "Lt Erwin, I really don't want to hear another one of your lame stories… plus they don't know everything about tanks to understand."

"Oy, Kuribayashi! They are not lame!" Erwin defended himself.

This was when Franz leaned in a bit to whisper into his commander's ear. "Herr leutnant, I think you better hold that for now."

Erwin turned to look at him with a disappointed face. "Et tu, Brutus?"

Franz and his brother Fritz merely smiled. It was Tozu who broke in. "Let me tell you all a good old fashioned horror story!"

Kurokawa raised an eyebrow. "Didn't take you for one who's into horror, Daisuke." she said with her soft voice and a small giggle at the end. Her long black hair was flowing naturally, not constrained by her helmet now.

Tozu shook his head more like a kid. "No, no, no, Sgt. I really like horror, it's funny on TV. Funnier when you tell your friends horror stories around a campfire in an alien world with God knows what lurks out there in the night."

Kurata suddenly straightened himself and his eyes were darting everywhere. "Oy, Daisuke. Don't say things like that out of the blue."

Kurokawa who was sitting just on Kurata's left, simply patted him on the back. "Fear not, little one."

"What's horror?" Inigo asked.

"A type of scary story. Mari-san! You're only two years older than me and you're calling me _'little one'_?"

"Shut up, Kurata! Let Daisuke tell his story. Maybe then Sgt Jackson cand tell us something about Afghanistan." Kuribayashi jumped in.

Tozu cleared his throat before starting his story. Rory's eyes scanned the circle of people around the fire and she couldn't see Itami. Nobody noticed her rising up on her feet and leaving them to listen to Tozu's story.

Meanwhile, Itami was sitting down behind a tree, resting his back on it, on the very edge of the small forest near which they were camping. There was a small pond two meters in front of him. The water's surface was reflecting the little light of the moon that managed to get through the leaves of the few trees who have grown around the small body of water.

' _Ah, peace…'_ he thought. He opened his eyes to let the dim light take him into another world of calmness and peace. A world where you are not fighting in a war and constantly running, where you can rest.

He could hear his comrades having fun, arguing a bit and then listening to another story. Then creepy music started playing from the camp. _'Erwin…'_ he mentally sighed, knowing that the tank commander put the X-Files theme to play on the tank's mounted speakers.

The cold night air made him wear the new clothing supplied by the army. His whole team had to. They moved a lot northwards and the climate was showing it. He didn't notice Rory sneaking up on him. She was half a meter from his right side and what gave her away was the fact that she stuck her halberd in the ground.

Itami jumped and reached for his pistol but calmed down when his eyes took hold of Rory's slander frame. "Oh, Rory. It was you."

"What are you doing alone here, Youji?" she asked him. He invited her with a hand gesture to sit down by his side, to which she complied. Itami was still silent. Rory's eyebrow arched.

As if he felt her eyebrow arching in the dark, he sighed and leaned back again on the tree's trunk and spoke. "Isn't it peaceful, Rory?"

She looked around. "Yes, it is peaceful…"

"I like to enjoy this while I can, Rory. The past two months have been a constant running around and fighting. Now we are searching for someone about whose location we know little about."

"Is that why you sneaked away from the others? To be here alone?"

"Hm… sort of. I don't disrespect them or anything like that. I just wanted to be alone for a bit and relax, put order in my thoughts."

Rory suddenly found herself keeping a constant vigil around them, eyes darting here and there as if trying to find something or someone. Her body was tensing. Itami noticed her and he too felt uneasy.

"Rory… are you alright?" he asked the apostle of Emroy.

Her voice was seething with curiosity and mistrust at the same time. "Something wicked is headed our way…"

Then, they heard horses running and felt the earth slowly trembling. "There must be many riders… shit! I have to warn the others!" Itami said and jumped on his feet.

"No, it isn't the riders. But I feel their bloodlust too. Something else, something much more dangerous is coming from the opposite direction." Rory shot back. She gripped her halberd and ran back to the camp with Itami.

The latter was shouting and throwing his hands in the air. "Attack! We're under attack! Everybody get ready!"

Everyone who was gathered around the campfire suddenly turned their heads. Erwin was the first one to get up and start climbing on his tank. "Franz, Fritz, Bauer! Get inside, right now!"

Kuwahara reached for his rifle and shouted orders at the other members of RCT3. "Get up! Get up, you lazy asses!"

Jackson, Carter and Lewis put on their helmets and geared up immediately for combat. "Sir, what is going on?" the British sergeant asked Itami.

"Enemy cavalry is bearing down on us! Get ready!"

"Contacts! 600 meters and closing in! Enemy cavalry, numerous! Lt Itami, _Hussar Three_ is engaging!" Erwin reported on radio.

Inigo and his sword out already. He was staring towards south from where the riders were coming. The tank traversed the turret immediately and fixed the cannon on the target. A loud thunder echoed through the air, dust and loose vegetation was kicked off the ground when the 120mm sent a shell downrange with a bright muzzle flash.

The shell flew like a tracer and detonated among the Empire's riders ranks. Horses and bodies were thrown through the air, body parts missing or with horrible burns. A loud warcry roared from every Imperial lung as they closed in on RCT3.

"For the Empire!"

The Leopard 2 fired its coaxial machinegun and cut down more horsemen. Then another shell fired, this one a canister type. The results were horrible. The shell opened and let out the many death bringing fragments fly and cut through Imperial armor and flesh, men and horses alike. A whole cluster of horsemen and their mounts was annihilated.

"Don't let them escape! Kill them all!" the commanding officer of the riders ordered his men.

Mounted archers fired their arrows as they got closer. Sgt Jackson took an arrow to the chest but the vest didn't let it pass. "Take cover! Get to the vehicles, now!" he cried out to the others.

M4s and Howa Type 64s were flashing and singing the song of death like a sadistic symphony, the audience being the Imperials. The darkness made it hard to accurately hid the foe who was already dispersing to avoid taking a large number of casualties.

* * *

 **Special Region, close to RCT3's location**

 _Just as RCT3 comes under attack_

"What was that?" Alia asked Alistair who instinctively ducked at the sound of distance cannon fire and explosion. They were both walking up a small hill, trying to put as much a distance as possible between themselves and Hardy's demons.

"Cannon fire and an explosion." he replied.

Then another one. They guessed the source of the noise was on the other side of the hill, somewhere nearby but far enough. They raced up to the hilltop. Then, they saw it. And she was scared, felt uneasy.

In the distance, somewhere around a kilometer from the hill, brief flashes of light of the Leopard's muzzle sent reddish light bolts all around, exploding at impact with the ground and the light of the detonation revealing silhouettes riding horses.

From near the tank, tracers from gunfire were radiating all around where the British and Japanese soldiers guessed the enemies to be. Headlights were turned on and the cars were falling into a defensive formation. Any rider who strayed into the light attracted gunfire.

Then, somebody launched a flare. It shot forth before burning like a small star, turning night into day for a short time. The intensity of the fire grew exponentially during the short span of time the flare burned, revealing every Imperial on horseback not taking cover.

Alia made a few steps back. This was something she wasn't used to, not at all. Alistair saw her cowering away and reached for her. He grabbed her left hand and slowly pulled the warrior to his side with encouragements.

"Don't be afraid, those are friends. They really pushed this far into the Empire's territory… I wonder how many units are nearby."

"Al… what is actually going on?" she asked.

The last moment of the flare's life revealed a smile on his face. "Alnus just came to us. Come, let's move! Stay behind me."

' _Wish I had my radio still with me… and now I hope they don't shoot at us too.'_ he thought.

" _Not like the Empire's small distraction or your friends are the greatest threat to you and anyone else right now. Not with the winged demons chasing you."_

' _Damn you!_ '

" _I was damned long ago…"_

' _Oy, bollocks! Stop being a smart ass.'_

"Al…" Alia murmured his name shortened. "Are you alright? You were… spacing out again…"

"I'm alright, girl. Sorry. Just stay behind me."

They jogged their way to the small forest that was now crawling with Imperial archers who were exchanging shots with RCT3. The more melee specialized soldiers were dead or pulled back from the onslaught.

Erwin's _Hussar Three_ fired another shell, it landed too close for comfort. The two heard the cries of two wounded Imperials. They didn't know they were there until the shell detonated. Alistair shielded Alia from shrapnel and other flying things.

And then he saw it. The tank was aiming right at them. Erwin and Franz didn't know they were aiming right at Alistair. They didn't have a clue that he was there and for all they know, the forest was full of Imperial soldiers. Alistair turned around and stopped on the spot. Alia bumped into him. He tackled her down just mere milliseconds before the 120mm shell whizzed past them and detonated in a tree's trunk mere meters from them, setting it on fire and grounding it.

Her ears were ringing and hurting. She felt like she didn't have any balance even though she was flat on her back on the forest floor with Alistair's protective stature over her. Everything was a blur for a few moments until she recovered and got up on her feet. Her eyes flew in every direction. The burning trees were shedding sufficient light to make out Alistair's frame holding his black katana in hand, blood drops falling off its blade – the blood of an Imperial who attacked them.

She saw two other archers moving on them and immediately pulled out the pistol Alistair gave her and emptied the magazine at their position. She saw one fall down dead, but the other one survived. Alia could vow that a huge halberd swung down on the survivor's head.

* * *

 **(RCT3 POV)**

 _Moments earlier_

"Another one down!"

Suddenly, Rory jumped out of the vehicle. Itami glanced at her, trying to discern her whereabouts. All he got for an answer, without asking, was kind of unsettling. "It is here… I'm going after it!" and the apostle melded with the forest in an energetic sprint.

"Lt Itami! There are gunshots in the forest! Do we have anyone there?" Kuwahara asked his CO.

"Negative, Pops! Everybody is here!" Itami answered and fired two more rounds where he guessed an enemy's position.

"Requesting permission to investigate!" Tomita said.

"Permission granted! Take care!" Itami approved.

"Lt, I will go too. Somebody needs to cover Tomita's ass." Kuribayashi's voice almost pleaded for extra action. She wanted to get in, close and personal as she enjoyed it.

"Alright! RCT3 actual here, Tomita and Kuribayashi went to investigate gunshots in close to our position in the forest. Watch your fire." Itami instructed.

"Copy! We are cutting them down!"

Under cover fire, the two JSDF soldiers made their way to the tree line and past it. Kuribayashi was tense, bayonet at the ready on the gun. Tomita was taking his time to shoot at Imperials he could discern among the trees. With the corner of her eye she saw the reflection of fire on a blade. Thinking it is another soldier of the Empire, she adjusted her grip on her rifle and charged the wielder.

Her opponent wasn't wearing the Empire's regular armor from what Shino noticed thus far. She let out an "AAAAA!" scream and jumped on her opponent who just dodged sideways and attempted to cut down Kuribayashi. The latter pivoted on the spot and delivered a roundhouse kick into her opponent's torso.

Little did she know that she was fighting Alia, one of the last warriors of the once proud Frost Guard of the free province of the Mountain Range of Ice and Snow. Alia staggered a bit back, the force of the hit mostly absorbed by the segmented steel torso armor she was equipped with.

Kuribayashi prepared to fire her rifle at her foe. As she was leveling the barrel with the figure, her opponent dashed forward and used the katana-like sword to throw her aim at the sky. Kuribayashi fired several shots in the air.

"Kuribayashi!" Tomita shouted from somewhere nearby. This was enough to make her lose focus and leave herself open. Alia's steel helmet's protrusion slammed against her nose with enough force to break it, blood flooding her face. Then, a sharp pain below her left knee cap forced her to fall on her knees. She cursed herself for losing the focus and she cursed her opponent who was a really good fighter.

But her opponent never finished her off. Instead, a question came after her rifle was forced off her hands. "Are you from Alnus? Are you friends with Al?" a soft and gentle voice, yet carrying the heat of combat, spoke.

Kuribayashi glanced up. Another flare launched by her teammates shed light on her. She was wearing steel armor, segmented in certain parts. Her facial features were beautiful, but the armor was hiding her body ( **AN:** because only in stupid brain dead plots women wear high end armor with +999 defense and that actually only covers the woman's nipples and vagina and butt). Her hair was an unusual color – dark blue. She extended a hand to Kuribayashi, the latter finding herself puzzled by the sudden change in her attitude – from a proficient fighter to… this.

It was then that Tomita showed up and aimed his weapon at Alia. He saw the extended hand and the M1911 laying down on the grass. Only Japan's allies were issued the classic sidearm, so it couldn't have been Kuribayashi's.

"Don't shoot her!" Kuribayashi told Tomita.

' _What… a samurai? A woman samurai? What!?' Tomita asked mentally._ "Drop your sword, now!" he ordered Alia. She complied. Alia put down her sword.

"You have no idea for how long I was looking for someone from Alnus. Me and Al have been on the road for a while now… I'm sorry I hurt your friend, I thought she was an Imperial…" her voice trailed.

Tomita raised an eyebrow. "Al…? That's… Lt Alistair! Where is he?"

"I don't know, he was here moments a-" and she didn't say more when she saw Rory flying through the air. Or, better said, thrown. She fell between her and Tomita, halberd in hand.

A British accented voice spoke in English. "Drop that rifle! Now!"

Tomita turned around and saw him – Alistair wielding a large black katana, his body emitting some strange dark mist. But the flare died and darkness set in once more.

"Sgt Tomita...?" Alistair asked.

"Y-Yes!" he answered and lowered his gun. Tomita reached for his radio. "Lt Itami, we have Lt Alistair and someone else. We are coming back. Watch your fire."

Kuribayashi was too lost to even try stop her bleeding leg who suffered a katana cut. Thankfully, it wasn't deep but it was enough to hold her back. Alia refrained from cutting deep in her leg and severing her muscles and bone.

"We should get out of here immediately!" Tomita says as he throws his rifle on his back and carries Kuribayashi in his arms to the vehicles. Rory glares daggers at Alistair before getting on her feet and retreating to Itami. Alia exchanges glances with her friend before following them, arrows whizzing in the air around them.

 **(END OF POV)**

* * *

They crowded in the vehicles. Kuribayashi was dropped off at the Toyota HMV where Kurokawa was waiting to tend to her wound. Rory jumped inside, followed by Alia and Alistair.

"We must get away from here! As soon as possible and as further south as possible!" Alistair told everyone.

"What the hell is going on? Who are you?" Inigo asked him.

Alistair didn't have the time to notice the wolf man's presence up until now. "Who… hut up, you remember me. Itami, mate, get us out of here before the demons reach us or we will all fucking die!"

Itami didn't even have the time to speak to his friend when he was assaulted by his request of immediately leaving. He relayed an order on the radio to the whole of RCT3. "RCT3 actual here, everyone get moving. Follow my lead. _Hussar Three_ , hold your fire and save the ammo. Go! Go! Go! Kurata, take us where came from."

"Roger that!" Kurata confirms and hits the pedal. They have left behind a shattered unit of Imperial mixed cavalry, soldiers who will fall prey to Hardy's demons if they don't move out soon. They were tracking Alistair down like a beacon.

"Itami, I will explain everything after we get some rest and are far enough from here… By the way, this is Alia…" he introduced her as he took off the backpack he was carrying.

"That the one who cut my leg!" Kuribayashi said with antipathy.

Alia lowered her head. "I apologize. I took you for an Imperial up until I saw you better and realized you were actually one of the soldiers of the army Al spoke of."

Itami noticed the look Rory's eyes carried. For some particular reason, she was not feeling comfortable in the two's presence. "Al… army… I will not ask any question now if you say so…" Itami said and a smile crept up his face. "But I'm glad to welcome you back, Lt Alistair!"

"What the hell are you doing this far north? Did you want to freeze your arses in the cold mountains?" the newly found British asked Itami.

"If you don't want questions from me, then I won't take questions from you, pal. Wait till tomorrow. By the way, you should clean yourself. You look like a damn old pig. Good thing we have spare clothes, ey?" Itami said to which Alistair laughed and Alia was a bit taken aback by the familiarity between the two.

* * *

 **Special Region, 60km south off last evening's battle**

 _D-Day + 58 days, midday_

The unit traveled somewhere around 50km south and set up a small camp with constant watch throughout the night. Kuribayashi had her leg bandaged and was lying on her back, asleep while the others were awake.

There was no Sun to shine on them today. Just a cloudy sky with moderate temperatures. Most of the team was busy maintaining the vehicles and checking and distributing supplies among themselves. Itami was with Erwin, Inigo, Alistair and Jackson. Alistair hugged his buddies and was more than happy to see them again.

Alia was with Rory, Carter and Kurokawa. They left for the river nearby to wash themselves. The men washed first. They were all dirty and smelling.

"Sir, glad to have you back." Jackson told Al.

"You have no idea how happy I actually was to see your sorry asses around here… I must say, plenty of things happened while I was freezing my butt in the mountains. How did you find me?" Alistair asked.

"Lelei and her master, Cato, were able to give us some directions. So… who is your… new friend?" Itami asked with a sheepish smile.

"Oy, bugger off! Don't look like that at me. She's a very good friend I want to help. Actually the whole bloody province was attacked by Hardy's minions. They literally killed everything they could get their hands on. We managed to force Hardy to pull back and the other ...deities intervened to put an end to her rampage. We need to get word to the general as soon as possible, we need to do something and contain this threat before it spirals out of control."

Inigo was very surprised and shook his head. "How do you want to contain Hardy, a being above mortal king? Is that why you told us to run? Because of her?" he asked him.

"Yep! There are many demons left. Many are still chasing us, hot on our tails since we managed to leave the province and enter the Empire's borders. So… what will be waiting for me when I get to Alnus? Court Martial?"

Itami's face was more serious now. "Something like that… we were tasked with finding you and meeting new people on our way and briefly documenting the usuals about them and their settlement. They even ordered me to handcuff you, but I ain't gonna do that."

"Right, Itami… please send this back through the gate. It belonged to one of the three fellas who were with me on that Humvee when we went missing. Please get that one on the address written on the last page." Alistair told Itami and handed him him Mack's notebook.

"Will do, Al…" Itami accepted the notebook and checked the address before putting it in his pocket.

"Was a great journey!" Erwin finally jumps in to change the topic. "We've burned plenty of ammo last night. Airdrop will be here in two hours or so… hopefully we can evacuate Sgt Kuribayashi as soon as possible."

"Maybe one of the mages with any sort of knowledge in healing can help her recover faster." Inigo said and got everyone's hopes up.

"Sorry for Alia. She's a good person…"

"I'm wondering how the girls are getting along…" Erwin said, his thoughts taking different paths.

Meanwhile at the river, as the men were preparing everything else and were sharing information and short stories, the women of RCT3 were cleaning themselves at the river.

Rory was standing guard against any pervert while the other three were undressing. She washed herself early in the morning, before anyone else. Pvt Carter and Sgt Kurokawa got rid of most of their clothes and leaned in the cool water.

They both stared at Alia who was barely taking down her armor and gently putting it down on the ground. When she was rid of all the steel and the blue skirt-like coat of plate extension of the torso armor, she was down to her blue clothing. She undressed and revealed a body many women would envy her for.

She slowly walked into the water, her more private parts still covered. Kurokawa saw the huge scar Alia was carrying on her right arm, from elbow to shoulder.

"Uhm… Alia?" she said to get her attention.

"Yes… Mari?" Alia said, trying to reconfirm her name. The introductions were a bit weird since she wasn't used to Japanese names.

"What's with the scar you have there?" Kurokawa asked and indicated the place on her own arm.

Alia lifted her right arm and straightened it to look again at the scarred wound that Giselle inflicted upon her in their first encounter. "Ah… I… I would like not to speak about it right now…"

"Sorry for asking, but the wound must have been pretty horrible… The medic inside of me is talking, my apologies."

Carter saw her scar too. "Holy… That's a nasty one, ma'am."

Now that Kurokawa had a better look at her skin, she could tell more than that particular battle mark she had on her right arm. She had other traces of combat on her torso. _'But it would be better to avoid the topic now.'_ RCT3's combat medic thought.

"Tell me, warrior of the Frost, how did you meet the British sodier?" Rory asked.

Alia smiled and saddened at the same time when the memory came back. "He saved me from the winged demons. I was the last of my group… If it wasn't for him, I would be dead now."

"And what happened to him later on?" Rory asked. Alia felt the change in her tone. She was like a pissed off detective. "You know, I was about to strike you down last night when he jumped between me and you. Not any man can stand a fight with an apostle and actually best it. Something's off about him…"

Alia made sure to carefully choose her next words. "He's not like any man…"

"Do you have any feelings for him?"

"What!?"

"A simple question. Do you have any feelings for him, young girl?" Rory asked again.

Alia simply ignored her and finished washing herself and left the scene. She wasn't quite fond of being cornered like this, and especially not by apostles considering her very first encounter with one.

Rory simply stared at her walk away. _'Something's definitely not right here…'_ the demigoddess thought and decided to investigate further. "He isn't human!" she shouted to Alia who froze in place.

The woman with the dark blue hair turned her head around to look at Rory. Alia didn't like Emory's apostle. Not at all. At least she wasn't trying to kill them. "How can you know that!? Look at you first, Rory Mercury."

Either Alia is a fool or she is very confident about something. And that something is Alistair. Something Rory wanted to uncover.

* * *

 **PLEASE LEAVE A FEEDBACK BEFORE YOU GO :D**


	33. Ch 33 - Talk & Dance With The Dead

**AN:** Hello, readers! I bring you Ch 33 earlier than I initially planned due to my exams. I will answer some reviews and then start the story. Important announcement at the end regarding how you can track the status of upcoming chapters.

 **BrokenLifeCycle:** You just gave me an idea for a comedy, might post it at the end of the story as extras :D

 **Mailbawx:** Today thou shall not wonder anymore.

 **The Tundra Fox:** But are they really safe?

 **Kaz21:** Thanks, man! Glad you enjoy it. Here's more. By the way, you might want to avoid giving open spoilers like that where other people who read the manga and watch the anime might see. I knew that, but it might spoil the story for others.

 **Francisco914:** Right now. Sorry for the long wait, still in exams. Read the announcement at the end for info about next chapters status track.

 **Junior VB:** Yeah… kinda screwed that up, sorry :(

 **Axcel:** Thank you for your feedback! Hope you will stick around for more :D but consider the fact that it is sort of alternate universe. I moved past these issues and enjoyed the anime as best I could.

* * *

 **Chapter 33: Talk & Dance With The Dead**

* * *

 _'Entry XVI:_

 _The world didn't get worse, your eyes just got wider.'_

* * *

 **Special Region, RCT3 location**

 _Sometime after reunion_

"I'm telling you, Youji, they are hiding something!"

"Rory… for… agh…" and he sighs in defeat. "What are they hiding?" Itami asked Rory with a poker face.

The demigoddess frowned, way more annoyed than Itami was. She was raising her voice with every spoken word. "I don't know! But it isn't something right! That's why I'm telling you, go and find out. You are his commanding officer, do something about it."

Itami simply facepalmed himself before sighing again. "Damn it, Rory, you can't just go on like this about people…" he said as he got up into the Toyota to get something to eat. The team was tracing back their steps to Alnus and right now they had to stop again and rest. The sun was setting and everybody was busy securing the perimeter, gathering firewood and anything affiliated to setting up a camp.

"Youji, you might regret not heeding my advice!" she barked at him. Luckily, only Itami was within hearing range. "Don't you find it strange their behavior?"

"Whose behavior? Alia's and Al's?"

"Yes! Not so much the Frost warrior as your friend."

Itami was now looking for the box with canned food. He stumbled upon Alistair's backpack, it was filled with different survival gear, Alia's shoulder guard armor piece and a black katana lying on the steel floor of the vehicle, neatly sleeping in its scabbard. The Japanese officer eyed the strange sword for a couple moments. _'How come I never asked him about it? Strange katana… To be fair, we didn't have much time to talk and he wasn't too much around me.'_

"ITAMI!" Rory shouted half a meter from him and startled him.

"What is strange? They met and she is tagging along with him. I don't find it that strange that Alia sticks so much around him and they tend to stay separated from the rest. They've been through enough together and he was cut off from the rest of the known world. They only had each other in that frozen hell…" Itami said as he got down from the car with the food.

"You obviously refuse to find out what it is… fishy about them." Rory stated with hands on hips.

"Why look for trouble when there is none? If they really have a secret, then I won't barge in into their privacy."

Rory was now banging her head against the halberd she stuck in the ground. "Youji, you dense idiot… It is not like that… I can feel it, Alistair is not the same as before… Why do we have to take that girl with us anyway?"

"Because if what she told us is true, then she will need to personally talk to General Hazama, Dietrich and anyone with the authority and resources to put in motion an operation of assisting the people of the province. Word has it that the two pilots who contacted Al confirmed everything he said and that Hardy has the province under siege. Innocent people are in a bad spot right now. If we can help, then it is our duty to do so."

Rory frowned. "Alright… what about his new strange sword?"

Itami froze for a moment. "What of it?" he asked.

"That sword is unlike anything I've seen in my 961 years on this world. And it isn't a normal one! By the way, haven't you felt tense in his presence sometimes? As if something unsettling was about to happen?"

Itami sighed for the third time in a very short time. "I admit that I don't know how he got that sword. I will ask him tonight, I promise."

Just then, Tomita came near them. He had a questioning look on his face. "Lieutenant, Rory… something wrong? I thought you were arguing about something."

Rory walked menacingly towards the sergeant and grabbed him by the sleeve. "Tomita, you were there that night when we met them in the forest! You must have seen something or felt something was wrong about Alistair!"

"Rory…"

"You were there! You saw me tossed through the air and you know that not anybody is able to get the jump on me and actually best an apostle in a fight!" Rory said, growing more frustrated by the minute.

Tomita saw the memory flash by before his eyes. Itami noticed the sudden change in his comrade's facial expression. "Tomita…"

"Apologies, sir. It's just… what I have seen… I thought it was the heat of the moment and shrugged it off, thinking I wasn't seeing everything as it actually was, with all the explosions and gunfire going on left and right…"

Itami now turned and came closer to Tomita and Rory. "What did you see?"

"It was for just a moment, in the light of the flare before it died. He was wielding what looked like a katana. And his body was covered in some strange dark mist, as if it was a pot with boiling water and steam coming out. Then, I saw Rory at my feet." he told his CO.

Itami brought his right hand to the chin and started rubbing it. "I will look into it… I'll speak to Al…"

"I will show you tonight, Youji! I will force them into revealing what they are hiding." Rory said and walked away.

* * *

 **Meanwhile, Erwin and his crew were admiring the sunset from atop their tank.** All four of them were resting their butts on the mighty Leopard's turret and feet hanging over. Bauer took out a cigar and lit it up. The song _Coming Back To Life_ by _Pink Floyd_ started playing on the speakers mounted on the tank's turret at a lower volume. They were conversing in German now.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Franz asked to which Erwin nodded in silence with a smile on, Bauer simply puffed a smoke cloud.

"Reminds me of the days when we were two clueless kids in our grandparents' backyard and used to stare at nature from the highest point we could find, brother…" Fritz said.

"Good choice of playlist, herr leutnant." Bauer told Erwin as he delighted his eyes with the orange sky and fields in the distance. The light was filtered by the leaves of the trees around the camping spot. A poet would take out a paper and pencil and start writing a small poem.

"No formalities. Right now I'm Erwin Kalb the man, not the tank commander." he told to his crew. "Bauer, pass me the smoke…"

The driver looked at him a bit baffled and handed him the cigarette. "Didn't take you for someone to ever smoke."

Erwin inhaled but only choked on the smoke as he inhaled. This earned him a good laugh from the other three. "Scheisse!" he cursed and handed the smoke back to Bauer.

"Bah! You wasted a good puff…"

"I don't think I'll ever understand what you people like at smoking." Fritz said.

"I found out that it relieves stress. I don't smoke often."

Franz turned his eyes to Erwin who was still recovering from the cigarette. "Say, s-… I mean, Erwin… what do you make of the recent events? So many, so fast…"

Erwin had to lay flat on his back on the turret and fix his eyes on the scattered clouds and the moon. "Well… I don't know about you, but sometimes I feel like somebody would have a good time writing about the kind of shit we go through… Right, why not start writing a small book after the war is over and we go home?"

The other arched their eyebrows and let out a collective "Huh?"

"Nothing, nothing… Franz, think of it as a trip to see the world. Everything is more pleasant when you see it this way. Who knows when we have to fight again… enjoy the moment. I have a feeling the Empire is going to be pissed off on us for destroying an important checkpoint and a whole cavalry unit when they find out."

"I'm tired of washing the tank of blood and God knows what other things…" Bauer said. "Good thing I'm a bit of a psycho and have no issue with picking up body parts from between the tracks and wherever else it gets stuck."

"I knew you were a freak Bauer, but this is a new level of you I didn't know." Fritz said and nervously laughed with his twin brother.

"Bauer, you damn maniac…" Erwin spoke and chuckled.

"See it as a plus, since you three milk drinkers can't stand cleaning the tank after a gore fest and I get to do it alone for the trickiest part."

"Did you just pull a Skyrim insult?" Fritz asked.

"What's wrong, Fritz? Someone stole your sweetroll?"

Erwin laughed because of the joke, but also because of the cringe worthy lines Bauer was pulling out. Franz stared at _Hussar Three's_ driver and lightly shook his head. "Bauer, you suck at this."

Bauer finished smoking and extinguished his cigar on Franz's trousers. The song switched to _Hey Brother_ by _Avicii_.

"Is it good music we're hearing?" they heard a feminine voice speak in English from behind them. They all turned around to see Pvt Carter, Pvt Lewis, Sgt Kurata, Pvt Furuta and Pvt Sasagawa. "Yo! Mind if we join?" Carter asked.

Erwin smiled and invited them. Soon, Katsumoto, Pops and Jackson joined them. Every member of the team was converging on the tank for music and relax. Erwin left them and went to look for the rest.

He stumbled upon Alistair who was lying on the grass with Alia sitting with her legs crossed, probably meditating like many do back on Earth. Erwin told them about their small gathering and the two decided to head toward the tank's location. Then Itami and Tomita and everyone else up until Kuribayashi, Kurokawa and Inigo.

He found Kuribayashi near the LAV with Inigo helping her keep her leg up and Kurokawa tending to her wound.

"Hey there! What are you doing here all alone?" Erwin asked them with a neutral face. Kuuribayashi stared at the German with a somewhat annoyed gaze. If one knew her well enough, one would know that Shino was mentally asking if Erwin really was stupid, oblivious or just …just what?

"Changing Shino's bandages. What are you doing here, Lt?" Kurokawa informed and inquired.

"Everybody is gathering at the tank for a good time together and some pictures. Sasagawa brought his camera along. And why not take a picture together, the whole of us?"

"What is a camera?" Inigo asked them.

"You shall see, my friend." Erwin told him with a smile, still enjoying seeing Inigo's face every single time he learns about something he thought impossible.

"Just a… done! Watch your leg and don't do anything stupid. Once we get to a hospital you will get better treatment than this. Sorry…" Kurokawa said and got up and brushed her forehead.

"Thank you, Mari-san." Kuribayashi said.

Erwin kept his smile. Kuribayashi found it a bit creepy. He leaned down and grabbed the small woman in his arms. She, in turn, struggled.

"What the hell are you doing!?"

"Stop struggling or we'll both fall and you'll hurt your leg more!"

"Let me down!"

"You can't walk!"

"You pervert!"

"Kuribayashi, what the hell!? Shut up and stop it, I'm not screwing with you!"

"Is that supposed to be an insult!? Nobody would sleep with you!"

"I'm the pervert here!? I'm wondering why you haven't punched me yet."

"Hit a superior officer? You would blackmail me with it or submit charges!"

Their argument continued up 'till the four grouped with the others. Kurokawa was having a good laugh with Inigo at the two's little show. The other tankers were just as baffled at first when they heard and saw them and then burst out into a collective laugh.

"Lt Erwin Kalb, I'll break your arms for this." Kuribayashi threatened him just as he let her down and Kurata helped her limp around.

"Alright! Get in there for the picture!" Sasagawa alerted everyone. He was preparing his camera on a small tripod. His camera was a newer model of instant develop type.

Alia, who didn't understand what was actually going on, asked her friend. "Al, why is everyone here?"

"Music, socializing and some photos." Alistair answered her. She was shying away. "Come on, girl. Don't be like that! Get back here. Nobody wants to eat you here. They had the chance to do that by now. And I won't let them if they get any ideas." he assured her with a smile and dragged her to his side.

The tank's turret traversed and took a diagonal posture to the left side, the cannon was pointing upwards at an angle of 10°. The Germans were sitting on the turret. From left to right (front of the tank to the rear): Sasagawa, Itami, Rory clinging to his clothing, Tomita, Kurata, Azuma, Kuwahara, Carter, Lewis, Alia and Alistair, Jackson, Inigo, Kurokawa, Tozu, Katsumoto, Furuta and Nishina. On the turret, from left to right: Erwin, Bauer, Kuribayashi, Fritz and Franz.

All of them were in high spirits. As soon as the picture was taken, it took a couple of minutes to develop a few copies. Sasagawa kept one for himself, one for Itami, one for the German tank crew and one was handed to Alistair.

"I'll have more copies when we get back to Alnus so everyone can get a picture." Sasagawa told to his friends.

The team split in smaller groups filled with chatter, laughter and music still playing on the tank's speakers. Alia was still looking at the picture, feeling the material and wondering how such a thing is possible, to capture someone's image in such detail on a piece of a material called plastic.

"You people are really strange…" she said.

"We can say the same about you." Itami told her. Alia turned to meet the Japanese lieutenant's eyes.

"…you are a strange people."

Itami had a wide smile. "Mind if I borrow Al for a couple moments?" he asked her. Alistair suddenly straightened and was about to protest at Itami's choice of words.

Alia switched her attention between Itami and Alistair in a quick succession before nodding. "Yes. Actually, no! No. Al, I'll go and clear my mind for a change, meditate a little." She said and left them.

Itami pulled his friend aside, making sure there was enough of a distance between them and the other RCT3 members.

"Why so private?" Alistair asked.

"Al… what happened back there? In the north…"

"What do you mean? Nothing good. Something that would have come out of some Japanese tentacle porn, put a pair of wings on it, razor sharp teeth and a spear-like limb and you have what happened to us and everyone else in the north…" Alistair told him with a bit of humor mixed there.

Itami let his head down for a moment. "Is just that Rory keeps bothering me that you are hiding something. Normally, I would leave you to your own devices but I'm concerned that whatever it might be, it can endanger the wellbeing of our comrades. So, Al… is there something you have to say?"

Alistair locked eyes with Itami. He put his black helmet on his head, the same helmet he refused to change; he got rid of the overused gear he had but not the helmet. The headgear was of some sort of importance to the British.

"You told us about the greater picture, but not a lot about you two, details and stuff… I'm asking you again, as a friend, is there something I should know?" Itami asked again.

' _Rory… you just have to butt in where it doesn't concern you…'_ Alistair thought to himself.

" _The apostle of Emroy is kept in the dark by her master about us? Emroy…"_

' _Emroy, you cheeky bastard.'_

"Itami… things happened. But there is nothing that should put anyone here in danger. Should anything threaten you or your team… or Alia… I will take care of it. Believe me old bud…" Alistair told Itami.

"You seem very confident."

"I've… learned things… tricks…" the British said, tumbling on his own words in an attempt to answer but without giving away the information he desired to keep to himself.

It was then that Alistair felt something hard hit him in the back and then fall to the ground. The two switched their attention to what was lying on the ground – the black blade in its scabbard. And three meters from them was Rory, halberd in the right hand and the left one on her hips, her usual posture.

"You tried, Youji. But he doesn't want to say anything and you are ok with it…" she spat out. She had listened on the two after she sneaked into the Toyota to get the black katana and confront Alistair about it.

"Call it a day, Rory. I've told you, don't look for trouble where there is none." Itami said.

"Ouh, but there actually is." the demigoddess spoke again, a bit cryptic for Itami.

"Rory Mercury," Alistair called her by her full name on an authoritative tone, "what are you doing with someone else's belongings? You may be a friend, but that doesn't give you the excuse to take my sword and throw it at me when I'm not looking."

" _Stay sharp, soldier. I sense a bad aura from her…"_ the voice from his head warned him.

' _I know… I feel it too…'_

"I don't have to explain myself before a mortal, especially one I don't particularly like because something's off with him. If you don't talk I'll ask your new found friend." Rory spoke again and put on a defiant smirk.

Alistair's eyes widened. "Don't do anything stupid, Rory!" and he turned to Itami. "Even if that threat is someone we're acquainted with and a friend so far…"

"You dare threaten Rory Mercury?" she spat, venom in her voice and lips turning mauve.

"It's not a threat. It's a warning. Don't touch Alia. If you hurt her, I will break your bones and feed you to the worms."

Itami could cut with a knife through the tension that was building up between the two. Alistair was very confident when facing an angry Rory, even if he saw her butcher the bandits at Italica. Itami took note of this.

"You speak with such serenity, soldier… Tell me, how does she scream before giving up and talking? Wait! Don't say. I'll find out for myself!" and she ran towards Alia. Alistair immediately grabbed the black katana from the ground and gave chase, Itami hot on their tails.

Alistair was trying to keep himself from bursting out, he wanted to contain the anger he felt for Rory. She was about to harm one dear to him and he would not have any of it. Alia was simply standing in her usual meditating posture, unaware of what was headed her way.

' _Why? Why!? WHY!? Why can't she mind her own business!? Leave Alia out of this, Rory!'_

In her anger and lack of care for the probably last surviving warrior of the Frost Guard, combined with the desire to inflict pain upon the man who defied her and threatened her, Rory used her halberd as a spear and went for a forward thrust with the halberd's pointy tip.

Alia was unaware of the things that happened in such a short time. Even a well trained fighter like her would have a hard time following Rory and Alistair in their sprint. What got her attention was a sick wet sound originating just from behind her and the feeling of someone being near her.

She turned around and saw Alistair smiling at her. She also saw the tip of the halberd coming through his heart, black liquid coming out of the wound and turning into black steam shortly after. She was shocked. Itami came into her field of view, his face radiating shock. Alistair leaned in to whisper, "Get away from here… go stay by Itami's side, you will be safe…", and pushed her away.

Rory laughed. "Well… he had it coming, unfortunately. Now there is only one that can answer what was off about him. And I want so much to get to the bottom of this!"

Alia recovered, she knew Alistair was not done for. He had his black katana with him, meaning he was ready for combat. Alia cursed, she forgot her sword in the car. Her armor was there too. She took it off to relax and rest her body for a change.

Rory turned around and locked her eyes on Alia and Itami. "What… did you… do? RORY! WHAT THE HELL!?" the lieutenant cried out. His loud voice attracted everyone's attention.

Just as she was taking her first step, Rory saw Itami's jaw drop. Then she felt extremely uneasy, she felt the air filled with anger. And it was directed on her. A cold hand touched her shoulder and held her in a firm grip. And the voice she thought she would never again hear spoke from behind.

"I told you… not to touch her!" and she was thrown through the air. She saw the sky rotate before her eyes before being slammed right into the ground. She felt dizzy. She felt a boot pressing on her head.

Meanwhile, Itami and other RCT3 members could not believe their eyes. Alistair was towering over Rory, boot planted on her head and his flesh replaced by a dark fire-like manifestation. Cold black flames were literally coming out of him, and, depending on how the wind was blowing, showing his skull and hand bones through the dark flames.

"Woah! Is that the Ghost Rider?" someone asked.

"No… Ghost Rider burned orange flames and only his skull, not entire body…"

"Rory Mercury, I've warned you not to harm her, yet you didn't heed my words. You are arrogant, just like Giselle. And when I remember that you should have been in that Humvee instead of me… of Mack and the other two… if not for Emroy's bullshit… and Hardy's num-nuts crush on your little cunt! Stupid little girl… Consider yourself lucky I got between you and your target in time."

He took his foot off her head and stepped back. Rory, angered and satisfied to some degree for revealing his little secret, attacked him. Alistair pulled out the katana from the scabbard and simply cut her at waist.

Rory fell face down in the dirt and grass. She wanted to get up but she could not support her weight on anything but her hands. She thought her legs went numb. But when she had a look to see what was wrong, she was shocked, more so than Itami or his teammates. A terrible pain suddenly took hold of her upper body. For the very first time in her life, Rory Mercury, Apostle of Emroy, God of War, Darkness and Insanity, felt genuinely afraid, maybe outright terrified.

She was cut from waist in half, her upper body was disconnected from her legs. Blood was pooling out. Intestines were visible. _'How did this happen?'_ she asked herself. _'I had him…'_

"Know your place, Rory Mercury. Next time you try to hurt her, I won't show any mercy. Consider it your last warning. Giselle is not as lucky as you… And never will be if we meet again." Alistair told her before dragging her legs to her body and letting her regenerative abilities do the rest of the work by cementing her lower and upper body. He made sure to wipe the blood off his blade on Rory's clothes, much to her frustration. "Don't growl like that. Your blood, your fault."

In her head, Rory heard another voice talk to her, but it wasn't originating from her mind, that much she deduced. A dark, grim, serious and heavy voice. _"You are seen as a friend, apostle. Do not let arrogance and pride fool you, for you are a mere child compared to the power he commands, even if he is unaware of what he's truly capable of. Make friends for even you, Rory Mercury, can't stand alone against the coming darkness."_

He walked with heavy footsteps, sword sheathed and more dragged rather than held up. His face was forming up again from the dark flames that burned seconds earlier. His eyes were heavy and were reluctant to meet anyone's gaze. And then he came to a halt before the rest of RCT3. Everybody was simply staring at him.

"Sir…" Carter broke the silence. Jackson couldn't say a thing, his friend and comrade for many years was something else. Lewis was just cowering behind.

"You are not… I was riding with the dead all along… even since I first met you…" Inigo spoke with very low voice.

And then, the British lieutenant looked at them. His eyes darted around until he found his companion among the soldiers. After acknowledging her wellbeing, he tried to talk. "Sorry… I ruined the evening. And sorry, didn't mean to scare y'all."

Itami regained his composure and walked closer to his friend. He put his hand on Alistair's shoulder. "You have nothing to apologize for…" he said, a smile curled up his lips, "but you have to tell us how you got that going for you! I was scared, shocked… but it was awesome! Albeit gruesome too… Go, rest."

"Tell ya if you promise not to say a word to anyone."

With that, Alistair left the team and spent his evening under a tree in Alia's company. Rory was still lying on the ground, her body still fusing back after sustaining the terrible injury that would have killed anyone else. When Rory opened her eyes she saw Itami and Kurokawa kneeling beside her, tending to her wound.

"I will be alright, I'll regenerate." The demigoddess assured them.

"I've told you not to do anything stupid, you little loli-" Itami's words were cut off short when Rory slapped him hard. "What was that for?" he asked her but only a mix of anger and laughter was his only answer. "…ah. Will you be alright?"

"You aren't upset on me, Youji?" she asked.

Itami looked up at the sky, the stars were starting to show. "I am. But what good is it if I act like it? What you did was unexpected and it won't sit comfortably with me. While you might have had our interests at heart, your actions are nothing short of stupid, reckless and barbaric. What fault did Alia have?"

Rory would have buried herself if she could. She didn't pay a lot of attention to what others say, but she cared about Itami's opinion. "I'm sorry…"

"Apologize to Al and Alia, not to me. But do it tomorrow. Sit here. I'm going to get something to eat for the three of us. Mari, what do you want?" he asked.

Kurokawa who was more observing Rory's incredible healing rate than patching her up gave a simple answer. "I'll have what you have, sir."

"Rory?"

"I'm not hungry…"

* * *

 **Sadera, Jade Palace**

 _D-Day + 65 days, morning_

Pina finally made it home. The Jade Palace is the official HQ of the Rose Order of Knights, and, unofficially, Pina's mansion. There, in front of the palace was Adranos with an honor guard. Flags of the Empire and of Pina's order were raised as they passed before them.

Pina and Titus were riding together at the head of a column of mounted knights. Titus dismissed his men to the barracks after the short campaign they've been through. The two commanders wished they were lower ranking people so they could rest, not face the political storm that's been brewing.

"Lord Adranos…" greeted Pina with a nod of her head and dismounted the horse.

Adranos bowed before the princess. "Your Highness, good to see you back in the capital. If I may ask, did you leave Grey in command of the knights stationed at Italica?"

"Yes, I did." Pina answered him. She then turned around to her subordinates. "Bozes, Beefeater, lead the knights into their barracks. You are all free for now."

As the princess dismissed her troops, Titus dismounted his horse and greeted Adranos. "Good to see you, Adranos, old man."

"Good to see you still kicking, Titus. How's Tasius?"

"He's fine. Playing prisoner… I must say, I didn't expect to see such a welcome. The short campaign was a failure, after all."

"This is the least we could offer you, a deserving welcome back. How are your men doing?" Adranos asked Titus.

"There's word of discontent among the soldiers, many disapprove of my surrender. I fear that they will be a major issue if this keeps up." Titus said. "You didn't teach your men humility when it is needed. By the way, I'm passing your command back. I commanded your legion in battle and I failed, now they are yours again."

"Titus, I am too old to go into battle without being a nuisance to everyone else. The 6th Legion is yours. And you better do something about those who aren't happy. I fear we might need soldiers in good shape in the near future."

Titus was a bit surprised. Pina who heard them talk, intervened by asking the obvious. "What do you mean, Lord Adranos? What's the situation?"

"The hawks are pushing more and more against the doves. Casel managed to find out which of the hawks would be willing to sue for peace if Princess Pina will request the release of their captured relatives, those who went through the gate. The Emperor is staying out of this situation, he doesn't want to risk a conflict between him and the two factions in the Senate.

Your brother Diabo has been keeping to himself lately and Zorzal… well... you know him. We must do something before the more hot-blooded generals and senators decide that it will be a great idea to adopt scorched earth tactics and sending more legionaries to die and send this land on the brink of collapse." Adranos explained.

"Not good at all…" Pina muttered.

"When will their diplomats arrive?" Adranos asked the princess.

"I don't know for sure. They should be on their way. We don't have much time on our hands… I will organize small garden parties and talk to every senator that is willing to change its mind in exchange for its son. But now I'd like to rest in my home. It's been some time since I left and I miss my bath and bed. General, senator, if there isn't anything else…" Pina made a head bow out of respect and left for the Jade Palace in front of her.

"Care for a drink?" Adranos asked Titus.

"Hell… why not? I could really use a good wine or anything strong you got."

"I got something in my home, not far from here."

"I know where you live, old man. Let's get going…"

* * *

 **Special Region, Alnus Base**

 _Meanwhile_

It was a lively day at the base. Soldiers were training, supplies were being transported here and there, shipments coming through the gate.

General Hazama and his staff were at the gate, in their uniforms, ready to receive the South Korean contingent. And they were not disappointed, immediately after the supplies for an extra month came through, the vehicles filled with South Korean marines showed up.

Hazama welcomed them and, after a short dialogue with the South Korean CO, a Lieutenant-Colonel, Yanagida guided them to their sector of the base until they will be deployed with the 1st EAA under the command of Brigadier General Karl Dietrich. The ROKMC contingent will be its own unit and will mostly operate in coordination with the US troops.

The next to arrive were the diplomats. Out of the car that came through, the entire band came out. Sugawara Koji and Shirayuri Reiko, Japan's representatives were the first to come out and gaze around, they were soon followed by Ryland Rowe and Oscar Campbell, representatives of the European nations and, the latter, USA and Canada. The General walked forward and greeted them.

"Shirayuri-sama, Sugawara-san, mister Rowe and mister Campbell, I'm Lieutenant General Koichiro Hazama, JSDF. Welcome to Alnus Base in the Special Region."

"Thank you for welcoming us, General. Pleased to meet you." Rowe shook his hand.

"I must say, the diplomatic corps is here earlier than expected." Hazama said.

"The people back home want the fighting to cease and many are calling for peace. Most of those are relatives of the soldiers who died in combat or people who sympathize with them. Needless to say, they want justice too. Thus, our schedule was changed a bit." Shirayuri told the General.

"I see. Ah, the reenactors are coming through."

The group turned around and then stood to Hazama's right side when the reenactors were coming through the gate. The first to come through were the Roman legionaries in the classical tight formation, their lorica segmentata or hamata contrasting their red undercloth. The Romans were followed by the hoplites who marched in a similar formation. Last of the infantry were the Japanese samurai.

The cavalry was comprised of the medieval European knights in their plate armor with mail underneath the plate. The Polish Winged Hussars were the largest cavalry reenactors with 50 to their numbers, all proud in their unmistakable armor with the wings on their backs, lances with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth sigil flying close to their tips and swords at their sides. The last to come through were the cuirassiers of the Napoleonic era, few but proud.

They refused to live in the buildings prepared by the JSDF, stating that they will live just as the people they are imitating did in the past, a life style they were already used to and trained for.

"They will make a good impression on the people here." Campbell said.

"Indeed. They can already start performing in the civilian district of Alnus. Now, if you will follow me, I will show you to your quarters. I guess you want to rest before the lot of work ahead of you. Already you have somebody who wants to talk to you." Hazama told the diplomats as he was leading them to their small apartments.

"King Duran of Elbe?" Sugawara asked.

"Indeed."

* * *

 **Alnus Base, civilian district**

 _Later that day_

The reenactors were allocated a spot in the civilian district where they can set up their tents and everything else they brought. As they were unpacking, a crowd of civilians gathered around the camp of the reenactors.

"Who are they?"

"Why are the soldiers letting armed soldiers set up camp here?"

"Was Japan and her allies defeated?"

"They don't like the Empire's soldiers."

Panic was slowly taking a hold of the civilians, Tuka among them. She was working at a store and was distracted by the ruckus outside. The civilian district was still growing and there weren't many points of interest around – a tavern, an inn, a few stores and a blacksmith were the only places you could spend your money.

When two of the newly arrived strange soldiers came walking towards the crowd of men, women, elves and other races, they were a bit scared. A JSDF soldier was accompanying the men, acting as a translator.

The men were wearing a strange piece of armor if one judged from the natives' point of view. The average height man was clad in a galea helmet with a red transversal crest, greaves with engraved decoration, a lorica squamata – scale armor – covering his torso and mail beneath it, his chest also carried discs with different inscriptions on them or faces. Leather strips were running along his upper body and a skirt of padded leather was extending underneath his armor onto the upper legs.

The other one, a tall young man, had a similar helmet but without the crest, was wearing the lorica segmentata and carried a red scutum with the golden wings and lightning bolts painted on it on the red font.

"Good day, people of the Empire!" the centurion began. "We come here today not as conquerors as some of you might fear. We are friends with the JSDF and the others. And don't worry, we are not real soldiers."

His last sentence gave birth to another wave of questions and assumptions.

"They are not real soldiers?"

"How can they not be? Look at that armor and those swords. That's real good quality steel right there…" the blacksmith said.

"Please! Let me explain…" the centurion addressed to them louder. "Back in our history we were not different to you and your way of conducting war. We used swords and spears to fight a long time ago. Me and my other friends are simply bringing back to life our history by living exactly as the warriors of old did. I am representing a Roman centurion, an officer of the Roman Empire who fought in Rome's legions. This here, to my right," and pointed to the regular legionary, "is a regular Roman soldier, the legionary.

There are many of us, different times, countries and cultures. In two days time we will hold demonstrations and small shows for you. We represent Rome. There are also the samurais, warriors of Japan, hoplites, warriors originating from a country called Greece in our world.

There's also the hussars, they hail from a country called Poland today. There are also the medieval knights, great fighters in the history of Italy, Germany or Great Britain, countries whose soldiers you have seen recently. And the cuirassiers of the Napoleonic era!

We are looking forward to seeing you at our demonstrations. It won't be long before we depart for Italica, maybe Bravil… and the capital, Sadera. Have a good day!"

* * *

 **Alnus Base, Hazama's office**

 _D-Day + 66 days, morning_

The team finally made it to Alnus. After more than a two weeks journey up north, the team made it back intact. A few injuries, but nothing terrible. The team drove into the motor pool where they left the vehicles. Lieutenant Alistair was arrested and put into a cell until he will be sent through the gate for trial for shooting two Imperials who were, technically, prisoners of war at that moment. That was way back when they were escorting the Coda villagers in their exodus from the dragon.

Alia was given a room for the time she will stay at Alnus. At Itami's and Erwin's insistence, Hazama decided to hear her out but he didn't fancy her chances of getting any help anytime soon from the JSDF due to their hands being tied by their political leaders, politicians who don't want to ruin their image anymore after the people were harshly criticizing the casualties sustained.

Hazama was going for the last time over the plans for the operation he was preparing. He wanted to insert a unit into the most lawless and uninteresting district for the Empire within its capital, in Akusho. Then, knocking on the door.

"Come in."

Yanagida stood in the door frame and saluted. "General, the woman known as Alia is here to see you as scheduled."

"Ah, thank you, lieutenant. Tell her to come in."

Yanagida gestured with his hand to Alia who was waiting outside and she came in. The officer saluted and left them.

"Miss Alia, please have a seat." Hazama told her and indicated to the chair in front of his desk. He made sure to hide the important papers from eyesight.

Alia sat down in the chair, albeit slowly. She found it incredibly comfortable, her eyes measuring the man before her.

"Thank you for finding time for me, General..."

"Lieutenant General Koichiro Hazama. What is it that the JSDF and allies can do for you, miss Alia?"

"Please general, just Alia will do. I am not really into formalities when I am only a warrior of the Frost and don't have a lot more to my name."

"Right, my apologies."

Alia leaned back in the chair. _'Gods, this is so comfortable… I could sleep in it…'_ she thought. "General, the situation I bring before you is of dire importance. Should it be ignored, many people will die for nothing at all."

"According to Lieutenants Itami and Kalb, you have fought… _demons_ , right?" Hazama asked.

"Indeed. It happened like two months or so ago. Hardy, Goddess of the Underworld, unleashed her lesser servants into the realm of mortal kind. Her demons simply slaughtered every soul that they came across. Only the larger towns were able to hold off the onslaught. Everything in the countryside was put to death. If not for your help at Fel'kren with your flying… plains was it?"

"Planes."

"Planes. If not for the two to aid us with their powerful weaponry, the town would have fallen. Now the entire continent is in danger. I came here knowing that it is within your power to help us fight back. The portals were closed by means unknown to me, but the demons still haunt us and hunt us down."

Hazama frowned at first, then he rubbed his chin. "Why did Hardy do all this?"

"I may not know the real, exact reason. All I know is that Emroy has something to do with this. The others, all have a stake in this madness. They allowed Hardy to interfere with us on a level never seen before. And she wasn't the kindest. She has gone mad, insane…"

"You do realize that this is a delicate situation…"

"I wouldn't have come to you, all this way south, if I didn't know you are able to defend the people and hunt down the demons. Please, General! Before she unleashes hell once more. I have seen children killed in their mothers' arms, my comrades and even my master were killed by these foul creatures." Alia almost begged him. Hazama kept silent, pondering on the information. "Please, General… they are making their way south. The winged demons were trailing me and Al. They are slowly slaughtering everything in their path…"

"Have you asked for help from the Empire or other capable nations near your home?"

"I was on a quest to do the exact same thing. The Empire is the only country capable to aid us… but I fear it may not be enough and the legionaries will die just like so many others who have faced the demons. Our only chance of winning was by fighting in towns where the wined demons had a hard time picking on us. In open fields we were nothing but easy prey for them… we could fight the walkers and other demons of such kind that came close to human strength, but the winged and heavier ones are just slaughtering even the well trained fighter. Then… I saw the power your weapons carry when I met Al."

Hazama looked up to her. "Alia, how did you meet the British officer?"

"Well… me and my company were on our way south to the capital of the Empire when we were ambushed in a clearing in a forest by the winged demons. The forests were the safest route one can take to mitigate as much as possible the advantage the demons have. I was the last one standing from my party when he came running from a bush and… shooting at the demons." Alia answered him.

"I see… I will have to talk to him too. Or have someone debrief him for me… You see… I wish to help you…" Hazama started. Alia felt a bittersweet taste, she had hope but his body language was betraying the contrary. "But we are fighting a war right now… We are at the beginning of peace talks with the Empire."

"General, please…"

Hazama was visibly hurt by taking this decision. Nonetheless, he gave his argument. "I don't have the final saying in this matter. The way our system works is different than the one you might be accustomed to. I can't move a finger without permission from the politicians back home.

If I was to send a force to secure the land, I would be removed from command of the allied army and somebody more… more compliant would replace me. And don't get me wrong but I doubt we will be able to secure the province without taking heavy casualties. The terrain is very unfavorable to us. And there is almost always snow…

Another bloodbath is the last thing the people back home want. I will bring this to the attention of my superiors and see what I can do. It might take some time before they even start taking it into consideration…"

Alia was broken by the news. "General… they will soon make their way south. What will you do then? Many people will be long dead before they reach Alnus… and then more will die here, defending this base. And what if they push through the gate? It is Hardy, after all, who opened the gate to your world. That due to reasons unknown once more. I can only think that that sadistic freak only wanted to be entertained, along with Emroy."

This information made Hazama uneasy. "You have my deepest apologies, Alia. I can't move a finger right now. All eyes are on me and my men. I can assign patrols along the area under our control. But nothing more. I can start making preparations with your help. In case they approve of such an operation, we will be ready."

Alia pondered for a couple moments. "Alright… I will tell you everything I know about the Mountain Range of Ice and Snow… this is the closest that comes to a helping hand."

Hazama smiled. She took the news better than he expected. "Thank you, Alia. I will get in touch with my superiors. But don't make great hopes. You could still find more help from the Empire. After the peace is signed, that is. I've found Princess Pina surprisingly caring… then there are the two Imperial generals, Tasius and Titus. They might see the danger they pose better than the politicians and do something about it much faster than we."

"Well, General… I will if your answer will be unfavorable. I still have something to tell you…"

Hazama arched the right eyebrow. "What is it?"

Alia was a bit hesitant. "You… you might want to keep Lieutenant Alistair around for as long as possible… don't sent him through the gate just yet."

"Why is that?"

"He will be very helpful when the inevitable will come…"

* * *

 **Sadera, Zorzal's mansion cellar**

 _Meanwhile_

The new Tyuule, or better said Tyuule's body possessed by one of Hardy's higher demons, was simply waiting in her room. For now she was only playing nice with Zorzal by pleasuring him, whispering in his ear strange things and instigating him against the women captured at Ginza.

"Demon…" she heard Giselle's voice.

"Yes, mistress?"

"Is everything going alright here?" Hardy's apostle inquired.

"Yes. Zorzal and the other aren't suspecting a thing. Everything is going according to your instructions and plan."

"Good… Make ready to enter his life more than you are now. Soon, our mistress, Hardy, will cut the vermin from their friends. Those who dared interfere with her and stand between her love and Rory Mercury…" Giselle said with an evil grin.

"Our mistress will shut down the gate to the other world?" Tyuule asked.

"Indeed. And when the time is right, she will get her love and revenge on every mortal who defied her. And then… the other gods too! Ha ha ha ha!" she finished in an evil laugh before disappearing in a portal that lead to Hardy's realm.

* * *

 **AN:** Well, here it is. I will regularly post updates on the stories I'm working on on my profile. There you can follow the progress on the next chapter of this story. The way I rate the progress is in percentage, I set milestones for every major events in the given chapter. Names of the chapters may change when they are posted, in contrast to how I name them on my profile at progress tracker. As an example, this chapter was initially named "The Touch Of The Abyss" but then I changed it to the current one.

 **Don't forget to give feedback :D it is really helpful. Thank you for reading!**


	34. Ch 34 - Winds Of Change

**AN:** Good day, fellow readers! Well, I know I said I will update more often but Mass Effect 3 happened, found a couple good stories on this website and most of the time I had like zero inspiration for the politics part. I planned to make this a big chapter but I decided to cut from the planned content for this one and will add it in the next chapter. I wanted to bring you an update as soon as I could. Enjoy! Not a lot of proof reading for the last part of the story, apologies if some mistakes escaped detection.

 **Aise77:** Thank you for following :D here is the next chapter. If you are asking when the Korean troops will enter the fray, you might want to wait a couple more chapters. Every unit will be portrayed.

 **GETH Prime:** Thou shall see.

 **Guest:** Thank you for pointing that out. I thought about that but somebody said in past reviews that I should use HEAT instead of HE (I think it was somewhere around the Italica battle). I will edit it when I'm doing an overall revision to the story. And yes, I'll use the Leo 2 and other tanks :D you know me. Thank you for following, glad you enjoy the story.

 **Timskalf:** No need to apologize, sir. You helped a lot. Thank you very much for pointing that out. I was looking into tricky timey wimey space distortion science stuff until I read your comment and you gave me a really good idea.

 **RedSS:** Thank you very much! I hope you will be here 'till the end of the story :D Enjoy the latest chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 34: Winds Of Change**

* * *

 _'Entry XVII:_

 _Generally, the public has an insatiable curiosity to know everything, except what is worth knowing.' **(** **Oscar Wilde)**_

* * *

 **Alnus Base, Prison**

 _D-Day +72 days_

 **General Hazama's POV**

I got word from the British Army back home regarding their officer, Lieutenant Alistair, who shot soldiers who surrendered, POWs effectively. It transpired a while ago but who would let such a dishonorable and criminal act go unpunished?

I briefly examined the strange sword he brought back and tucked it back into the case labeled _Belongings_.

I walked into the prison, went right to his cell, and had him brought into an interrogation room. He sat on the other side of the table, handcuffed. His face was one of someone who maybe resigned to his fate. Now, to break him the news.

"Lieutenant Alistair…"

"General… I'd salute you but I can't." he told me. Like many others, I thought he was trying to be smart with me. But no, his face betrayed the fact that he wasn't trying anything like that.

"How are you doing?" I asked him.

"Well… considering the world is run by corrupt "leaders", our food is being poisoned, the meat industry has become a holocaust, the atmosphere is being sprayed with chemicals and poisons, racism is still an issue and there's people dying in the world from starvation while we waste enough food to feed them, I would say I am pretty concerned right now."

"Ehm… Lieutenant, word came from home. In two weeks time you will be transferred to a prison back on Earth and the British Army will take it from there."

"Any reason why so late, General?"

"No. Neither did it pique my curiosity to ask why." I sighed before continuing. "But this isn't the only reason I wanted to talk to you, Lieutenant. It has to do with… your friend, companion. Miss Alia."

His eyebrows darted upwards when I mentioned her name. Hmm, must be close to her. "Did something happen? Did she do something she wasn't supposed to or…" and his voice spat venom with the last words, "did somebody do something to her?"

"No. Nothing like that. In fact, she is the ideal guest. She will be leaving for the Empire's capital in the near future after she helps us with what she knows, wants to seek aid there too." I assured him. "No, it is about what happened in the north."

He leaned back in his chair and avoided my eyes as soon as I mentioned that. This just keeps getting better and better. "Lieutenant, this is not an interrogation. This is for future planning. Now I haven't heard good things from her and if what she says is true, then I need to know more to prepare."

He met my eyes again. The eyes of a veteran who might as well have been through hell if I was to judge after reading his file. "General, are you sending help for the survivors out there?" he asked me.

"It's not that easy, Li-" I wanted to tell him the reason but he cut me short.

"Of course it is easy, sir. Those God damn abominations are probably slaughtering everyone they get their han-… tentacles on! I have seen firsthand what they do to people and the Mountain Range is crawling with them. Towns are running short on food and they slowly die. A whole culture and people will die because we do nothing! I should have stayed back there…"

"Calm down, man! What could you have done alone against those beings?" I asked him. I think I'm getting close to see what is so special about him that Alia advised me to keep him in the Special Region.

"The only bloody thing I know and am good at, fight! Fight 'till death." and he gave me a smile after. "Why can't you send reinforcements, General? These people are innocent, their only guilt is that a demented goddess has a crush on Rory Mercury and wants to please her by harvesting the peoples' souls. Not a pleasant procedure."

"The higher ups won't allow me. It will be a disaster either way if you consider how stretched and in the dark we are."

"General, the only thing that keeps you from doing it are the bloody morons back home who want voters. I've heard the guards talking. Folk's angry on governments for losing so many soldiers in the engagements with the Empire. And they keep you with your hands tied so that they can keep their posts for another four years. This isn't petty politics, we are talking about saving human lives here. I bet our APCs will suffice to get the poor sods out of their towns and take them south, to safety."

He is right. To my shame and pain, he is right. "Say I send a force, maybe General Dietrich and his command. Lieutenant, I think we are getting sidetracked too much. If I do as you say, even with the preliminary peace talks going on, the politicians replace me and appoint somebody who is more inclined towards their agenda.

I've already had my fair share of arguments with the PM and his spooks. You may not be familiar with the man most likely to succeed me, but believe me when I tell you that he has no place in the military. God knows how he made it up the ranks. But then this is just my opinion. I will not compromise everything by making decisions that will jeopardize the soldiers' lives for we lack too much information.

Thank you for your time, Lieutenant Alistair." I explained him and prepared to get out. But then… something strange happened.

" _You're cynical and have a good heart, General. But it will not matter when darkness falls on Falmart. Watch is better than cure…"_

The strangest voice I ever heard… and it came from nowhere. I turned around to have a look at the guards but they didn't say anything. No. I thought I was going crazy but Alistair's smug told me that I wasn't going crazy. No… something strange is going on with this man.

"We will talk again, lieutenant. Guards, escort him back to his cell."

 **END OF POV**

* * *

 **Alnus, Civilian District, Master Cato's house**

 _D-Day + 72 days, past midnight_

Lelei woke up in the middle of the night. She rubbed her eyes and tried to get back to sleep but couldn't, her tired face hiding the little frustration this earned her. She got up from her bed and walked outside where she found her master. Cato was sitting on the grass in the cool night breeze's embrace.

"Master… why aren't you asleep?" Lelei asked.

He turned his head around to locate the source of the gentle voice. "Same reason as you, Lelei…"

"I simply can't sleep. Something is bothering me but I can't tell what."

"You feel it too, don't you?" he asked her.

"Feel what?"

"Something is shifting in the two worlds. Something big is happening. And I don't like it… Great powers are at work, Lelei."

* * *

 **Sadera, Akusho District**

 _D-Day + 72 days, 0200 hours_

Akusho, the district where crime flourished at every corner. A place where only the strong and always vigilant would prosper. A district ruled by the equivalent of modern day mafia bosses. This was Akusho.

The JSDF was here for four days and had already upset the crime lords of Akusho. They didn't "play by the rules" at all. The troops were content with aiding however they could the locals who were bullied by the pawns and brutes and collectors of the bosses. And when they were not up to anything, they would retreat to their safe house, a place set up for under the radar operations in the capital.

Due to growing popularity with the locals, the commanding officer of the Japanese troops in Akusho, a major dubbed Chief by his subordinates, received vital intel. Apparently, Bessara, one of the local crime lords, decided to teach them a lesson for undermining their authority. He was planning a raid of the JSDF safe house in Akusho. The CO instructed his men to evacuate the locals from the nearby houses and to set up an ambush for when they come.

And they didn't disappoint. Past midnight, at 2 am, Bessara and his gang finally made an appearance. They were armed with maces, swords, knives, clubs, you name it, they had it. The thug's weapons.

The scene looked like it was set up for a wild west standoff. Japanese soldiers were waiting in cover – on rooftops, inside other buildings, on balconies. When one of the thugs prepared to charge the door with a massive hammer, a man with a cloak came out of the house.

The figure approached the thugs who were eyeing him with a thirst for violence. The guy carrying the hammer looked at a window from where Bessara was overlooking the raid. The criminal raised his hand to signal his men to wait for a moment. He was curious what the man wanted. Perhaps they were ready to conform?

"Good evening, respectable gentlemen," the man spoke with a Japanese accent. "May I interest you in a small demonstration of magic tricks?"

The thug grinned while others laughed. "Go ahead! Make me laugh!" he said with confidence.

The man with the cloak reached inside his clothing and pressed a button that sent a signal to the other troops' radios. It was a go.

Just as he suddenly threw the cloak back to reveal his body covered in Kevlar from head to toe, a soldier from a balcony on the right side stood up. He brought his FN Minimi to bear on the group of thugs. ( **AN:** The JSDF uses the Minimi, built by Sumitomo Heavy Industries)

With the loudest possible voice, the soldier with the machinegun shouted, "ABRACADABRA!", and it rained bullets on Bessara's men. From their hiding spots, the others popped out and opened fire, decimating the lawless mob.

It didn't last more than 20 seconds. In all this time, the one who came out of the house to present the magic trick was smiling and shooting with his pistol. Bessara was taken out by a grenade thrown into the room he was in. In the aftermath, nobody survived. There were a few heavily wounded who got a mercy kill from the man with the pistol and clad in Kevlar.

"My, my… what a nice trick that was, left you all on the ground in astonishment."

That night, Akusho learned that it is better to get out of the way when the JSDF is walking down the road instead of picking on them. The low folk got along just well with the outsiders while the more cunning ones preferred to avoid them.

* * *

 **Alnus, Civilian District**

 _D-Day + 72 days, midday_

"Cheers!" and mugs hitting each other filled the mostly empty atmosphere.

Every member of RCT3, except for Lieutenant Alistair, was having a drink at the new tavern built by the Coad refugees with assistance from the army's engineers. Tomorrow, part of their team, they will be deployed to Sadera with Koji Sugawara, one of the Japanese diplomats.

"So, Itami, how does it feel to get back to work so soon?" Erwin asked Itami who was treating his dry mouth with beer. The army provided beer for sale at the tavern.

"Teasing us for being deployed so soon, Erwin?"

"Of course! While you go to escort the diplomat, we get to rest more."

"This is important. Sugawara must assess the political terrain before the others go for the final negotiations. I'm taking comfort in knowing that I get to see new places. And then, after this is over, I get to rest and do what I want." Itami replies.

Erwin turns his attention to their British teammates. "What are you three going to do?"

"I'm going to see the Lieutenant in the brig if they let me. Then… well, I don't know. Was thinking of relaxing some more." Carter told them.

"Keeping in shape and getting to know the bunny woman that serves here." Lewis, with a pervert grin on his young face, announced his plans.

"Pervert…"

It was Jackson's turn now. "Not a lot to do on my end. Gonna pay visits to the Lieutenant, good friend of mine. Not sure if I'll see him after they send him through the gate in two weeks. Nothing else on my agenda in between. What's on your mind, Kalb?"

Erwin exchanged glances with his crew and got a nod from Bauer. "The crew of _Hussar Three_ wants to throw a small or big party if there's a good number of us. You in?" the German officer asked.

"A party without us!?" Kurata shouted, not believing his ears.

"I'm jealous!"

"And where the bloody hell do you want to have a party without the higher ups getting word of it and… grounding you?" Jackson asked him.

"We have nothing to fear. I arranged it with the officers. We rent the tavern for the said night, bring some nice speakers, a laptop and portable generator… you name it, we get our hands on it." Erwin explained.

"Will the owners let you rent it for a whole night?" Kuribayashi asked.

"We saved them from a dragon. Surely they won't mind if we pay them couple golden coins. After all, golden coins carry a lot of value around here." Bauer stated.

"Golden coins? Where did you get them from?" the others asked the four Germans.

"We sold small mirrors, some cigars, one fancy lighter I had… damn merchant wanted to rip me off. Wouldn't have any of it and got a good price for the lighter… What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

A couple of them had their eyes on Bauer, the driver of the tank. Then, Kuwahara asked him what everyone was hoping was not true. "Did you sell him an almost empty lighter?"

"Now hold on there, I am not a thief. I only used it couple times before I sold it for the gold coins." he reassured them.

"So you basically did the same thing the Europeans did with the native Americans in the past, you exchanged items we are in no shortage of for gold, items they probably found as exquisite." This one came from Tozu.

"Yep. They liked a lot one of my shirts. Thought of it as some extravagant material and with models it had. "Incredible handwork" I think were the exact words he started with."

Erwin turned to meet his driver's eyes. "You sold one of your shirts?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Bauer, you went too far."

"Not true, Lieutenant. I didn't like that one too much. So I thought I sell it and have a good time with the money I get on it."

"Didn't it pass through your heads to exchange money for some gold?" Carter asked them. "Why go through all this bother?"

"Carter… gold is bloody expensive back home." Jackson told her.

"I wonder how much you'd get if you would sell a porn magazine to those merchants… Playboy would have a field day in the Spec-! OUCH!" Lewis was stopped in his tracks by Carter's fist smashing down on his head.

"Pervert…" all three women of RCT3 said in unison.

"Bloody hell, lad…"

"I will try that the next time. Thanks for the idea, Lewis!" Bauer said between laughs.

"Before we jump at each other's throats… Yo, Delilah! Another round here!" Azuma said and ordered a second round.

"Sasagawa, when are we going to get our own copies of that photo we took?" Franz asked the photographer of RCT3.

"Tonight said the guy I left in charge with them. He had a lot of work to do. I'll go pick them up and hand them over in the barracks."

Delilah came over with the fresh drinks for the team.

"Here's to the Third Recon Team! Badassess, dragon hunters, soon peacekeepers and overpowered soldiers!" and another thud of mugs filled the air.

* * *

 **Sadera, Jade Palace Gardens**

 _D-Day + 74 days_

"Princess Pina, good to see you again." Itami greeted the princess who came to welcome the group of Japanese soldiers with the diplomat.

"Princess Pina, a pleasure to meet once more. I guess you remember me from the preliminary talks we had in Japan during your short visit there." Sugawara referenced when they traveled to Japan, some for the Diet meeting and others for negotiations. "You look quite nice in the gown."

Pina suppressed a nervous laugh after hearing the compliment. "Thank you Sugawara-dono, Itami-dono. Welcome to the Imperial Capital, Sadera. I hope the journey was pleasant."

"Indeed it was. Glad we have the boys at Akusho and some new friends around here. Should we proceed with the work ahead of us?"

"Yes, of course. Itami-dono, Bozes here will show your men to the… proving grounds. I think that kind of persuasion is the best one for the senators that are still skeptical." Pina said. Bozes took the lead with Itami and other RCT3 members.

Pina then walked with Sugawara who was in an office suit. Two of Pina's knights were following behind as bodyguards and two of Itami's men in formal military clothing, Nishina and Kurata, both carrying suitcases with small diplomatic gifts. The diplomat spoke first.

"How is it looking, Princess? Is the Senate ready to accept peace?"

"Not all of them, unfortunately. Here are present some of the peace doves and the hawks more… willing to listen to the voice of reason."

"I see. Beautiful gardens you have here, Princess. Reminds me of Japan's countryside."

"Have you seen much of your world, ambassador?" Pina asked him.

"Not much. Just when I was traveling due to work. Politics never was an easy topic. Capitals, a couple museums, that sort of seeing. You enjoy it more when you are on vacation with family or friends. That is when you really see the world."

"Can't say I have seen too much, ambassador. Itami-dono and his friends took us to a museum where they showed the important events in your history, to a center of trade and to a harbor. I confess, seeing ships built out of steel… They were beautiful and extremely strange at the same time." Pina said with a smile on her lips, remembering the moments.

"Soon you may be able to visit us more often and see more for yourself, Princess. I'd be pleased to learn more about your country and people. Curiosity always has the better of us."

"Indeed. Here we are, ambassador. You will stand out with your attire but that shouldn't cause problems, I guess."

Bozes and Itami parted ways with Pina and Sugawara who were headed towards a set of benches covered by trimmed vegetation that grow on a couple columns, offering shelter from the Sun's heat. Many senators were present discussing different topics. Their wives and children were minding their own business separate from the men. When they noticed Pina and Sugawara they gave a curt bow before the emperor's daughter.

"Senators, it is good to see you here today and I thank you for accepting my invitation." Pina said. "I didn't invite you here for nothing more than chatting and eating but to also meet an ambassador from Japan, Sugawara-dono."

The hawks eyed him with distrust and antipathy while the doves were happier to see him. They all measured him from head to toes, his office suit was very strange for the Empire's senators who are used to robes. His hairstyle was also much more different than what they expected.

"Senators, pleased to make your acquaintance." Sugawara says. "May I introduce you two of Italica's defenders, now here with me on a diplomatic mission, Master Sergeant Nishina Tetsuya and Sergeant Kurata Takeo."

The two soldiers had already put their suitcases on a table and saluted. The senators found their salute strange. The Empire was used to a fist over the heart while these people were bringing their right palms to their forehead and standing at attention.

Their clothing was different too. The more intelligent of them assumed this was a formal attire, not their actual combat gear. It was intricate, to say the least. The rank markings and decorations really caught the peoples' eyes.

Sugawara did not hesitate and as soon as he deemed it long enough for them to absorb the information he told the two soldiers to reveal the content of the two cases.

"I would like to present you gifts from our country."

Kurata and Nishina held the open cases to reveal their content. Sugawara handed over the small gifts to every senator present. It wasn't much for somebody from Earth but for these people it was something exotic.

"I must say, you have quite talented artists to produce such fine details on your items." one of them mentioned.

"I'm humbled to hear these words, senator. Now that our introductions are over, would you like to discuss more important matters?" Sugawara asked in an attempt to push forward the negotiations.

"Hmm, if what Princess Pina mentioned about your country and army is true, then this could amount to an unconditional surrender on our behalf, no?" a hawk said.

Sugawara smiled and shook his head. "No, senator. We are not here to cripple your country, it is not what you might think. Our preliminary terms are quite simple. Some are negotiable while others are not."

"Would you name the nonnegotiable terms?"

Pina watched more like a neutral third person the scene and braced for the worst.

"The nonnegotiable are as follows. First, we want our people back. We rescued a couple of them from captivity in one of your mines. Do you know anything about other citizens from our world taken into slavery?" Sugawara asked. When the senators shook their heads he decided to press on. "Senators, please do not lie to me. The people back home are outraged at the practice of slavery, something we despise. And our army will tear the land apart in our search for them, should you cover it up."

"I assure you, ambassador Sugawara, we have no knowledge of slaves taken from your country." a dove said.

"Alright… the second term is the sovereignty of your client nations. The Empire will denounce its dominion over the Kingdoms of Elbe, Mudwan, Alguna, over the Principality of League and the city-state of Italica. They shall no longer be vassals of the Empire." Sugawara listed the second term.

This hit hard the pride of many senators. Even some of the doves were taken aback. Just as the more aggressive senators were about to snarl in protest, Sugawara spoke again. "King Duran of Elbe survived the battle at Alnus and was taken in our care and recovered from his injuries. Since then, he negotiated an alliance with Japan and her allies and proclaimed his nation's sovereignty. Our military is fully capable of backing him up. Further envoys have been sent to the other aforementioned nations to pursue further diplomatic relations. And by the time I am talking to you, my colleagues must have finished negotiations with Countess Myui of Italica and her entourage."

Pina resigned herself with such a scenario even since she returned from Japan. The time she spent there taught her enough to expect such terms.

"You dare…"

"Yes, senator, WE dare! You may not fully realize it, but what we are doing is for the benefit of everybody on this continent." Sugawara shot back.

"Enlighten us how that helps everybody, ambassador."

"First, you learn to coexist and help each other rather than subjugate each other. It is much more beneficial and progress is achieved faster if people help each other rather than undermining or backstabbing their kin. The United Nations organization from Earth, with the backing of the army we have here, will oversee this. You can forge alliances, establish trade and other beneficial treaties for both parties. There are further social topics to be discussed that will benefit you all but they are not something necessarily to be included in a peace talk." the Japanese diplomat explained.

"And the third term?"

Sugawara sighed. Kurata and Nishina looked at each other. This gave away the fact that it wasn't something they will accept as easy as the previous terms.

"The ones responsible for the attack on Japan and its citizens be handed to us for fair trial and subsequent punishment. Punishment does not include the death penalty thus far. And even if the Emperor himself is implicated in orchestrating this attack on us… he will not escape justice."

And all hell reigned. Angry shouts filled the area. Pina was staring agape at Sugawara. "Sugawara-dono! You surely-" she wanted to reason with him.

"I am sure and not joking. This is what our people want and we, as chosen by them to lead and represent them, will obey their requests as long as they are reasonable. These are our three nonnegotiable terms, senators. Please carefully consider your answer. Should the senate push for further conflict between our sides, we will occupy the capital in less than three days and still get what we want." Sugawara warned them.

"And if you rot in a cell… ambassador?" a hawk threatened.

Tension was on the rise. But the voice of reason among the Imperials came. An old man's voice, approaching the large group. It was Adranos. "Have we stepped so low that we would throw an ambassador into the dungeon, fellow senators? The voice of another people, a voice that seeks reconciliation between two worlds?"

"Lord Adranos! You can't possibly consider this!"

The old man kept his calm demeanor as he spoke. "I thought you had your peoples' best intentions at heart when you accepted your post in the Senate, senator. Ambassador Sugawara, I'm Lord Adranos. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

Sugawara refrained from extending his hand for a handshake so they would not confuse it for a marriage proposal like it happened couple times already. He curtly bowed before the elder.

"Say, ambassador, can we expect anything on your behalf? Something as a gesture of good faith?" Adranos asked in an attempt to push aside the outrage of his colleagues and bring good news on the table.

"Why, of course. Should you accept our terms and set up for further, more in detail negotiations, we will immediately release General Tasius and his men from captivity. They are currently prisoners of war. And we have cared very well for them." Sugawara announced. He knew very well the truth about Tasius and his men but for now they had to play the cards.

"You would do that just as a sign of good faith?" a senator asked. The Empire and its people were used to torture and execute or sell prisoners into slavery, rarely ransoming them.

"Yes. And, as a bonus, we will also release ten prisoners we have incarcerated in prisons in Japan. The list of names is now in the possession of Princess Pina and she will personally name the ten that we will release, as she was the one to lay down the foundation for the peace talks. The others will be released after the treaty is signed, a topic we will discuss at the table when my colleagues are here." Sugawara said. The senators turned their faces towards Pina.

The princess simply nodded before confirming it in words. "It is true. I will prioritize the senators of the more belligerent faction if they express their desire to pursue the negotiations in a more serious manner than this. Should you take the most sensible and wisest decision, everybody will be released without further bloodshed. Otherwise, this war will continue a little longer."

"This is basically blackmail!"

"Princess, on whose side are you?"

"On the Empire's side. And its people. You, senators? Are you on your side or the Empire's?" she aggressively pushed her point.

"Smart, Princess," Adranos said to the shock of some hawks, "if nothing else, some of my colleagues have sent their sons in the expedition as it was expected of them."

"Lord Adranos, you slimy old man!"

"Senator, you will watch your language." Pina authoritatively addressed the man who insulted Adranos.

Sugawara seized the moment to say the few things left to say. He cleared his throat first. "Senators, I assume you are the majority of the Senate here, right?". Couple of nods gave him his answer. "Happy to hear that. We planned for a small cultural exchange that will appeal to you. We have people who are reviving our history with us. They are mostly reenacting military units from our past and will come to the capital along with General Tasius for a small… demonstration and show, let us say. Should you approve of it, of course."

"They will stay in the Jade Palace for everyone's convenience. The diplomatic delegation from the other world will stay in the Jade Palace as well. Everything on my expense." Pina informed them. "We have plenty of space with half of the Rose Order's knights stationed at Italica. Officially, ambassador Sugawara and Itami and his men are my guests."

A wave of approval came from the senators, much to Sugawara's liking.

"Thank you. I promise you will enjoy what they have to show you. Now, if you will follow me to the proving grounds, several Japanese soldiers, as well, have something to show you."

* * *

 **Special Region, Vicinity of Alnus**

 _D-Day + 75 days, morning_

 **Yao Haa Dushi's POV**

I can't believe it… we made it. For almost a month on the road and we are almost there – at Alnus Hill where the Men in Green live. For all we lost, all we suffered and endured, to finally reach the safe haven is a blessing from the gods.

Ever since that accursed ancient fire dragon woke up from its sleep my people suffered greatly. The beast preyed upon us and many other tribes who used to live in Schwartz Forest. We were defenseless against it. Our bows, arrows and swords unable to pierce its thick scales. Our bodies unable to shrug off a fire breath. We are like ants drowned by the heavy rain.

Our elders thought of sending a small party to meet the Men in Green and request their help in fighting off the dragon. Word spread quickly after they fought off the same dragon that was plaguing us and they saved the majority of a village from certain death. It was the best we could do – seek their aid.

And before choosing those that were to be sent, the dragon mysteriously ceased hunting in our forest. My people immediately took advantage of this and we all left our homes behind in search for a better life, a safer place. Many died in the attacks of the dragon in Roldom Valley and in Schwartz Forest. There is nobody I know that hasn't lost a relative or friend to it.

We decided to split into three groups and separately make our way to Alnus to avoid detection from the dragon, use forests to travel to stay hidden from its preying eyes. Big mistake… what was a good strategy against the dragon came to bite us back. There's a reason the forests we traversed were abandoned, avoided by people – the unnatural dwelled in those places. But it was also the last place a dragon would search for food.

Less than 100 dark elves met again in the vicinity of Alnus Hill. The roads were not as kind on us as we hoped. Wild orcs, goblins, lawless folk and even supernatural monsters such as the restless undead in the nights or wights took their fair share of victims. Damned creatures of the night! One of my friends, Inara, said to have had its dreams plagued by a moroi, a strange and evil spirit of the dead mostly shrouded in mystery.

But alas, we made it to Alnus. I turned around to see those of us who survived making their way towards the hill through the tree clumps. Then I turn towards the hill, in the distance buildings visible.

Then I hear a strange sound in the sky, it is as if the wind spirits are enraged. In that moment I thought that another misfortune is befalling on my people but I'm happy I'm wrong this time. Two strange flying arrow heads crossed the sky over our heads so fast we thought it impossible for something to go that fast, not even the dragon.

I realized that it was one of the marvels of the Men in Green the folk were talking about in the towns and villages we stopped to buy supplies when we were running short on them. Now I know that these mighty warriors can protect us from the dragon. That if they allow us to live here. If they are kind as the word goes, then that should not be a problem.

As we made our way on a dirt road towards the newly founded settlement, we saw them for the first time – the Men in Green. They were riding strange carts and were coming from west, just as us. Their carts were of forged iron, steel, that much was clear on a closer inspection. They even painted them in green, some were simply green all around while others had various shades of brown and black spots. It was a caravan by the looks of it.

The leading cart came to a halt to my right and halted the whole caravan. They were all soldiers if I had to guess. The same attire, heads covered by a helmet and same clothes color, had to be the soldiers in Alnus, the Men in Green. They were all looking at us and conversing in their language. There were many young men in high spirits. And if my past experiences with men serves me right, I would say they were talking about the women of my clan.

I saw something that appeared on every single cart or the uniform of the soldiers, probably their flag or coat of arms. A green vertical stripe followed by a white one in the middle and a red at the right side. Their coat of arms or flag, whatever it is, was encased in the form of a shield on their left arms. There were also different markings I could not decipher.

Their leader jumped down from the first cart and approached me. I was nervous. Then, he spoke with a foreign accent the Empire's language.

"Good day, my lady. May I ask what you are doing here?"

He called me a lady? Was he a noble? Had to be if he was a leader of soldiers renowned as they were. Maybe he's mistaking me for nobility.

"Ehm… I…" I stumbled on my first words. "Good day. Me and my people are making our way to Alnus."

He had a good look at many of us, measuring us, his eyes mostly falling on our swords and daggers more than anything else. His right hands were firmly holding a strange black contraption close to his chest. In fact, all of them were holding those things close to their persons. Could these be the magic staffs we heard of? Had to be. "What business do you have there?" he asked this time eyes locked with mine.

"Me and my people are the last survivors of the Dushi clan. A fire dragon attacked us and hunted us down in the past months. We decided to leave our homes behind and come to Alnus where we heard rumors about the mighty Men in Green who bested the very same dragon in combat and saved a village on the run. We come here seeking shelter…" I answered him. His eyes grew wide when I mentioned the dragon. Then I noticed sadness and sympathy in the very same eyes that moments earlier had a cold and steely resolve.

"My apologies and my sympathies. You have come to the right place then. Please excuse my attitude, I was wary of the fact that most of your people is carrying swords, daggers, bows… It is my job to protect the people, I hope you can understand me on this one. I am Major Dante, 41st Alpini Infantry Company, Italian Army." ( **AN:** again, I want to mention again that the unit is fictional, please don't bash on unit names and such)

He held his right hand out towards me. Was he… was he asking me to be his wife? I know the Empire's people practice this when they want to ask somebody to marry them. Then he retracted his hand when saw me stiffen up and my people's faces of mild shock, amusement or whatever he read on their faces.

"Apologies, I forgot. In our world this is a handshake, a form of greeting somebody. I forgot that for the people of Falmart it actually means something else. One of our two generals did the same when he introduced himself to Princess Pina of the Empire. He held out his hand and she thought he was asking her to marry him." he explained us with a laugh at the end of it.

"Ehm… it's alright. I am Yao Haa Dushi, daughter of Dehan of Clan Dushi. We hail from Schwartz Forest in the Kingdom of Elbe."

"Now that we got that out of the way, you people look like you could use a hand. Not like we are further than couple kilometers from Alnus but it is better riding an APC or a truck than going on foot. God knows for how long you're walking." this Dante man said.

He turned around and shouted something to his men in their language. Several large carts emptied of men and their equipment.

"Alright, load your belongings in the trucks and mount up. Two of my Alpini will also be riding with you in every truck. It will take you faster and with less trouble to your destination. We were on our way to pick supplies for our unit either way so there's plenty of room for all of you."

"Thank you very much, noble warrior!" I thanked him as courteous as I could muster. He smiled and ordered his men to help us mount their carts. I climbed the same cart as their leader did. There were two young soldiers with us. They were not minding me, talking in their language, one different than these Italians but… similar. Then I heard them singing something in a low voice.

"Şoim în văzduh, frate-naripat, du-mi amintirea departe (Falcon in the sky, winged brother, take my memory far away)  
Să nu mor niciodat' (So I'll never die)  
De cei ce m-au cunoscut, în inimi nu m-or uita (Those who knew me, in their hearts will remember me)  
Şoim voi fi și eu, cu tine voi zbura. (A hawk I'll be too, with you I will fly.)"

I think their commander noticed curiosity showing on my face and addressed me. "From the little I know, it is a song in the language of their parents. Heard them singing it couple times with their best friend."

"Ehm… by the sad looks they carry on their faces… I take it he…"

"Yes. Boy saved me from an ogre in a battle. Was their best friend. These two are brothers. He and many more died in the Dumas."

"Were you fighting the Empire?" I asked.

"Yes…" came his, suddenly cold, voice. "Miss Yao, I will contact my superiors and explain the situation. Excuse me for a minute…" and he pulled out a small black brick and spoke to it… I thought he was going crazy but then the black brick spoke back to him. I'm in for a lot of surprises with these people.

"Alright, they agreed to let you establish in the civilian district of Alnus. They will provide temporary housing for you until you build homes. I suggest you start earning money too, sustain yourselves by opening stores or trading with Italica, same as the refugees from Coda."

I was… overjoyed. The Men in Green will let us in their town. I was about to jump and kiss the officer for the great news but I held myself back.

"T-Thank you! Me and my people will be in your debt." I managed to say.

"No debt. Just don't cause any trouble, don't pick fights or break the law and we will be happy we didn't make a bad decision when we allowed you in. You will have to report to the… how do I put in your language..? Population tracking office…"

"Of course."

When we reached Alnus… it was as if it is a totally different world. Tall defensive walls, steel carts and even stranger. I think I saw where they keep their steel birds. Apparently, one officer was angry on the one who took us in and after a short deliberation between them, we were assigned living quarters until we would build our own.

The same officer advised us to seek employment if we have no trade. Some of my clan know how to work the leather and steel, know how to make bows. We can start with that for now. The people here are surprisingly friendly to us, I figure finding work and earning money to sustain ourselves will not be a big problem.

Finally, we can have peace here…

 **END OF POV**

* * *

 **Sadera, Zorzal's Mansion**

 _Meanwhile_

"My Prince…" Tyuule teased the eldest of Molt's children.

"What is it, Tyuule? You want more? I want to bite something from the other girls too, they are starting to break apart, finally." Zorzal said.

"Not necessarily, my Prince… but rumors are flying around…" the demon in the warrior bunny's body suave voice.

"You now listening to rumors, Tyuule?"

"Well… it was impossible not to overhear people talk since you allowed me to stroll in your gardens. The Empire's senators are talking about surrendering, capitulating before the country on the other side of the gate…"

Of course, she was bullshitting him. She was a demon and had other sources for her information, not people talking in public. And she was adding her own lies, in accordance with Giselle's and Hardy's agenda to antagonize the relations between the two sides, part of Hardy's greater plan of revenge on the otherworldly soldiers and to get Rory.

"Hmm. Tyuule, listen more and tell me what else you hear. I have work to do and no time for such things. If they believe the Empire surrenders so easily then they are terribly mistaken." Zorzal spat with anger.

"Yes, my Prince."

Somewhere in the shadows of the crown prince's mansion, Giselle was smiling.

* * *

 **Sadera, Akusho District**

 _D-Day + 83 days, evening_

Kurokawa was sitting at her desk in the JSDF's safe house, she was going over medical reports regarding sexually transmitted diseases in the Special Region. It was a matter worth looking into, especially if you take into account the fact that many women in Akusho earn a living through prostitution. And the JSDF is selling them condoms, an addition the whores here consider a "must have".

Then, knocking on the door. The knocks were more and more furious with each passing second. Kurokawa turned around and rose from her seat, pistol at the ready. Kurata readied his Howa Type 64 rifle and aimed it at the door. He then signaled Kurokawa to proceed as he got her covered should hostiles be on the other side.

"Who is there?" RCT3's combat medic asked.

A feminine voice came from the other side. "Is that you, Kurokawa? It's Misery. We need to talk."

It was one of Kurokawa's "clients" for selling condoms, a demi-human of the angelic type. She was here to warn them about the impending earthquake.

* * *

 **Pacific Ocean, Devil's Sea**

 **JDS Mirai, 200km south of Tokyo**

 _Meanwhile, just before the earthquake_

The JDS Mirai, a Kongo-class guided missile destroyer, was on her way south to link up with an American fleet off the coast of Australia to take part in international naval exercises. The route she was given was taking her right through the infamous Devil's Sea, or Dragon's Triangle, an infamous span of water in west Pacific.

The reason why this region of the ocean was feared and mostly avoided was because of thte strange phenomena that happen here. It was right on the other side of the globe in contrast to the Bermuda Triangle. But much more deadly. The only reason the people don't know that much about the Devil's Sea is because it doesn't enjoy as much press as the Bermuda Triangle.

Along the years many ships and planes went missing here. Most of them with no distress call sent out, no SOS, no trace. Amelia Earhart's plane went missing in this area in 1937, never to be found again.

Modern day planes report strange things, physically impossible, such as covering large distances in a very short span of time when flying over the Devil's Sea. Others report sightings of UFOs and USOs (unidentified submersible object).

Prince George of Wales, future King George V, while on a voyage during his late adolescence in 1880 with his elder brother Prince Albert Victor of Wales, spotted the legendary ghost ship in the Devil's Sea, the Flying Dutchman, a sign of impending doom for the sailors who saw her and their ships.

As the prince noted in the log: "July 11th. At 4 a.m. the _Flying Dutchman_ crossed our bows. A strange red light as of a phantom ship all aglow, in the midst of which light the masts, spars and sails of a brig 200 yards distant stood out in strong relief as she came up on the port bow, where also the officer of the watch from the bridge clearly saw her, as did the quarterdeck midshipman, who was sent forward at once to the forecastle; but on arriving there was no vestige nor any sign whatever of any material ship was to be seen either near or right away to the horizon, the night being clear and the sea calm. Thirteen persons altogether saw her ... At 10.45 a.m. the ordinary seaman who had this morning reported the _Flying Dutchman_ fell from the foretopmast crosstrees on to the topgallant forecastle and was smashed to atoms."

The Mirai, a warship of the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force, was sailing through these treacherous waters. The weather was bad too, a storm was raging in this area for two days already, not in concordance with the forecast.

"Really bad weather… visibility greatly reduced… and the waves are big…" the XO of the ship, Commander Kadomatsu Yosuke said.

"Indeed. It is most unfortunate…" Captain Umezu said.

Kadomatsu turned around. "Captain, what are you doing this late on the bridge?"

"Can't sleep. How are things looking, XO?"

"Not great but not bad either. The furious storm is giving us some trouble."

"Hmm… better be on the lookout. God knows what may lie out there…"

"Captain, you actually believe the stories about the Devil's Sea?" Kadomatsu asked Umezu.

"You are quite young if compared to me, Yosuke. I have learned to always be careful, especially in waters such as the Devil's Sea." Captain Umezu said.

The two and the bridge crew minded their own business in silence until a report came from navigation.

"We've lost GPS!"

"What?" the XO inquired. "Could the storm be at fault?". He then switched his eyes on his captain who was sitting in his chair, eyes closed, probably thinking.

"I repeat, GPS down. I've checked twice. We are not picking anything in orbit."

"How is this possible?"

"CONTACT! A ship, 15 degrees to our port!" an observer with binoculars reported.

Kadomatsu reached for a speaker that patched him to CIC. "Radar, report!"

After a second of silence, the radar operator reported. "Radar clear, sir. No contacts for the whole evening."

"Check again!"

"Confirmed, radar is clear. We've got no radar contacts."

"My God!" came the distressed voice of the observer.

"What is it?" Umezu asked.

"Captain, that is an old school sailing ship! It's maintaining a stable course."

"Commander Kadomatsu, there are strange things in this world… we might just have stumbled upon one mystery right now…" Captain Umezu said with a calm voice. Inside, he was scared too. He was facing the unknown, and like any human when faced with the unknown, he was scared.

"Captain, Commander… I don't like to admit it… but I think I recognize the vessel… It's near enough to make out good details."

"What is it?"

"Wait… it is signaling us! Light signals!"

"What's it saying?"

After couple moments of tense silence, the observer reported. "It's asking … asking us to… land? Captain, I can't see anybody aboard!"

Umezu opened his eyes and got up from his seat. He slowly made his way towards the windows and ordered the crew. "Ignore that ship! Legend says the captain of that ship set sail with the Devil when he left port."

"So it really is it, isn't it Captain? It's the Flying Dutchman."

Most of the crew on the bridge moved to the port side to see the legendary ghost ship as it sailed right past them, approximately three hundred meters off Mirai's port side. One of the crewmembers muttered with fear in his voice. "That ship is a sign of impending doom…"

Kadomatsu was growing frustrated. "Get a hold of yourselves! Everybody get back to your posts!"

"Captain! I'm picking a faint radio signal!" the comms operator reported.

"On speakers."

The speakers cracked to life with a lot of static and few discernable words.

"… _Alnus… Sade- …-quake …repeat, to Aln-…"_

" _Al-… cop-… evac-… Advised, the gate ha-… shut… lost contact…"_

"ALNUS?"

* * *

 **AN:** Unexpected ending, ey? Ship and characters are a reference to the _Zipang_ manga and anime. Alright folks, I finally finished this chapter. Please leave your opinions in reviews or PMs, feedback is greatly appreciated. It helps me know if what I am doing is on your liking and it also gives me ideas and what needs to be changed. And you can also keep track of next chapter's status on my profile. Have a good time!


	35. Ch 35 - Quakes & Tremors I

**NOTE1:** First thing I want to say is that you should check out the story **GATE: WARFARE** by **carlos olivera**. Good story, has a slow start but it has an interesting idea at the base and it picks up. Second… enjoy Ch 35 :D

* * *

 **Chapter 35: Quakes & Tremors I**

* * *

 **JDS Mirai**

 **Special Region, Unknown location**

 _D-Day + 84 days, past midnight_

"Did I hear that right? Did it just say Alnus?" Commander Kadomatsu asked.

Captain Umezu looked at every man on deck and they all nodded when his eyes locked on theirs for just a moment. "Either we're all having illusions and hearing the same thing or we have ended up in the Special Region."

"How's that possible, Captain? The gate is in Tokyo, Ginza, not in the Pacific. What happened?"

"Captain! The _Dutchman_ is… disappearing. It's fading away!" the observer reported. Others rushed to the windows on the bridge to see the things legends are made of manifest just couple hundred meters off the Mirai's port.

"Nav, maintain current heading. I'd like to put a distance between us and the _Dutchman_. And get out of this storm." Umezu said.

What was otherwise a very calm and calculated man, was now struggling to keep his composure before his subordinates. That much Kadomatsu was able to tell. He knew his captain for a while now.

"Comms, try to get that signal back." Umezu ordered.

"Aye, captain!"

* * *

 **Sadera, Jade Palace**

 _Moments before the earthquake hits_

Pina and Hamilton were outside, both women flanked by guards. Pina was sleepy and wanted to scold Itami for this whole earth shaking thing that they were woken up for. But the Japanese officer was nowhere to be seen.

"What is the meaning of this? Where's Itami?" she asked one of her guards.

"I don't know, Princess. He told us to immediately wake you up and evacuate outdoors, so if the palace falls nobody would be trapped underneath," the guard said.

"Earth shaking? What a prepo-" Hamilton wanted to say but she ate her words when she felt violent vibrations beneath her feet. The knight immediately wrapped her hands around Pina who did the same. The trees' leafs were violently dancing. It gave them the feeling that the end of the world was upon them.

"Ouh man, must be pretty bad…" Itami calmly said as he walked with Sugawara.

"I'd say a 4 or greater," Sugawara said.

"So it feels like here. If the epicenter is far away, it could easily be a 6," Itami answered.

Pina caught sight of them. Itami was walking with Sugawara, behind the two were Tomita and Kuribayashi. They weren't betraying any fear whatsoever.

"Itami-dono! How can you be so calm!?" she asked of him.

The lieutenant simply smiled at first, "Earthquakes are frequent in Japan and in other places on Earth. Don't worry, it will be over in no time."

And, true to his words, the earth stopped shaking just as suddenly as it began.

"See? What did I tell you? Alright, make sure everybody is alright and get the wounded somewhere clear of buildings. The aftershocks wi-"

"Aftershocks?" Pina asked.

"Ehm, yes. Smaller earth shakes, if you want to call it that," Itami explained in the easiest words he could muster.

Pina gasped. "I must warn my father! Hamilton, get my clothes!" she ordered her knight.

"Well, take care then, Princess," Itami said.

"Eh? You're not coming!?" she asked.

"Well… I'm an ambassador and Itami and his team are soldiers of the country the Empire tried to invade. That makes us enemies. How well do you think we'll be received by your father, Princess?" Sugawara spoke.

"Please, you have to come. I'll think of something... you know better than us when it comes to earth…quakes. Please, Itami-dono!" Pina pleaded.

The ambassador and the officer nodded to each other after a moment of thought, thus agreeing to go with the Princess.

* * *

 **Sadera, Imperial Palace**

 _Not long after_

The palace guards were frightened. Pina's and her group's entrance was uncontested by any sentry as it should have been on a normal day. The red haired princess was in her usual field work attire – armor, Itami was in more formal clothing, Tomita and Kuribayashi were in combat gear. Pina summoned her father, Emperor Molt Sol Augustus, who was rather surprised by the fact that Pina was the first to get to him. Now they found themselves in the throne room after the princess dispatched servants and officers to get things in order.

"You're becoming ery competent, Pina," Molt remarked. "Now… would you introduce the people before me?"

"Yes, Your Highness!" she exclaimed. "This is ambassador Sugawara of Japan. He is accompanied by Lieutenant Itami of JSDF, Japan's army," Pina introduced them. Itami saluted while Sugawara gave a court bow.

"A pleasure to finally meet you, Highness," Sugawara said. "Though I hoped we'd meet in more… pleasant circumstances."

Molt looked at them, analyzing them. They clearly didn't look like they were from anywhere around the known lands but beyond the gate Hardy opened between the two worlds.

"Why did my daughter find it necessary to call for my presence in the throne room?" he asked, obviously trying to project a feeling of importance of his own person.

"Father, I asked their presence since they can advise us on earth shakes. It is common in their world," Pina replied.

Molt shot her a glare. "And you mean to tell me they were here in Sadera just for this special occasion?" he asked her. Pina failed to say anything as a cover, she had failed to come with a cover up.

"Of course not. Although we'd advise you to send out competent men to calm the population and the garrison of the city to offer relief aid to the affected districts of the city. I doubt there wasn't any building that fell. And there will be a few aftershocks after this, nothing as serious though," Sugawara said.

Molt averted his gaze from the Japanese delegation to nod toward a captain of the guards. The officer understood the message and left in haste to make sure the advice given by Sugawara was put to good use.

"And we were here to seek a peaceful solution to this conflict between the Empire of Falmart and Japan and its allies of Earth. Would your Majesty be open for diplomatic talks?" Sugawara asked him.

Molt smiled at the diplomat. "You were already undertaking diplomatic talks with the senators, all this behind my back," he said and his face became hard again. "People talk, and I hear them."

"Surely you understand as well as we did why we had to keep it behind the scenes. The Senate has a sizeable number of 'hawks' and we are in the very heart of the enemy nation. Yet… Here we are, trying to save as many lives as we can. We could have marched here with an army, not a diplomatic corp."

"Indeed, it is praise worthy and noble to seek reconciliation instead of clash of arms," Molt agreed.

"Says the retard who sent thousands to their deaths and not a single diplomat," Kuribayashi swore under her breath in Japanese.

"Then let there be a ceasefire. When this commotion is over with, I'll invite you to sign a temporary treaty for proper diplomatic talks," Molt offered.

"It would be the best course of action, Highness. Until my colleagues, representatives of our allies, will be here we can't properly conduct negotiations," Sugawara said.

"Father, I offer the Jade Palace to house the diplomats and their entourage, and as the location for the negotiations. I can take care of expenses," Pina said.

"Alright. Pina, you-" Molt wanted to say when the doors burst open violently.

"FATHER!" Zorzal cried out as he entered the throne room. Molt frowned, he didn't enjoy the interruption. Especially not now.

"Father! We must leave!" Zorzal said as he pushed and bragged his way through the Japanese group without so much as giving a damn about it.

"What's up with this jerk?" Kuribayashi asked Tomita in Japanese. Itami looked at him with antipathy and eyed his entourage.

"Why is that, Zorzal?" Molt asked.

"There will be another earth shake!" the prince answered.

"How do you know the earth would tremble again, brother?" Pina asked.

Itami's mind started working when he heard it. _'How could he know that? Everybody said he's an idiot so how can he…'_

Zorzal laughed before gesturing to his men to bring someone in. "Noriko told me," he nonchalantly answered. The name sounded familiar to the RCT3 members present. And in came, dragged in chains, a rather young Japanese woman, only a piece of cloth covering her body. At the sight, Itami was seething with anger. He was barely keeping himself from pulling out his sidearm and shooting the bastard on the spot.

The blonde man punched Noriko once with his boots. "Come on! Tell the Emperor what you told me!"

The next thing Zorzal knew was a pain in his face while lying flat on his back, Itami two meters from him punching another one in the guts and then in the jaw.

"YOU BASTARD!"

Kuribayashi raced towards Noriko to free her from the bonds with her combat knife. The girl struggled a bit, showing signs she was abused a lot and thought Kuribayashi was going to hurt her.

"It's alright, we're the JSDF. We'll take care of you," Shino told her as she caressed her.

"JSDF? Does that mean..?"

"Yes, you're safe and we'll take you home."

Tears were forming in her eyes. "I never thought I'd see home again!"

Sugawara took off his tuxedo and covered Noriko with it. Zorzal's entourage was staring at the scene, their prince recovering from a tough punch and their slave taken away. The diplomat turned to face the monarch on his throne.

"What is the meaning of this!?" he thundered.

"Sugawara, Itami… please, it must… allow… we've had no kno-" Pina blabbered in an attempt to diffuse the situation but was cut off by her eldest brother's laugh.

"Too late, Pina. I don't know from what hole you barbarians crawled out of but you just damned yourselves and your nation!" he said.

Sugawara took Noriko and shielded her. Tomita and Kuribayashi were covering them, rifles at the ready. Itami pulled out his P220 pistol and chambered a .45ACP round.

"Get out of our way, scum!" Itami ordered but his request was met by men preparing to attack them. "Tomita, Kuribayashi, weapons free," he instructed his subordinated.

"ATTACK!" came the order from the prince and a bunch of his adjutants charged at the Japanese delegation.

Itami was the first to shoot a fat one in the chest two times. A torrent of 7.62mm bullets came from the rifles of Tomita and Kuribayashi, a torrent of bullets that kept the wave of men at bay. Meanwhile, Molt watched with an indifferent gaze but he inwardly sighed. Pina was shocked to see such a scene unfold in the throne room.

It wasn't even half a minute before the fire ceased and an eerie silence fell, the last sound being that of a casing hitting the marble floor. Itami looked through the mess of dead or wounded, he was searching for Zorzal. A big part of him really wanted to see the prince dead or mortally wounded, but the little reason that spoke to him in this moment knew that a dead heir would only further antagonize the Empire.

Alas, he saw him cowering behind, ears covered with his palms. Itami walked to him with determination, grabbed him by his clothes and dragged him forcefully closer to the others. He gave him one more punch in anger.

"Where are the other women!?"

"You barbari- AAAH!" and another punch.

"WHERE ARE YOU KEEPING THEM!?"

"I'm not telling you anything!"

Itami sighed and got up from him. "If that's how you want to play it… Kuribayashi, make him talk," he ordered her.

The small soldier put on her maniac smile. She threw her rifle to Itami, made sure her gloves with reinforced knuckles were tight on her palms and fingers and slowly made her way to the man one and a half times taller than her who was standing up by now.

"Don't mess with me, little girl!" Zorzal cried and proceeded to attempt to punch her.

Shino ducked, using her height to her advantage and then put the blonde down with an uppercut, a tooth went in the air as he fell again on his back. Kuribayash pinned him by sitting on his chest and gave him a healthy beating. All in the eyes of his sister and father and a scared guard, or what was left of the guard after the shooting.

Shino took a break. "WHERE!?" she asked and muffled noises showed his stubbornness. She twisted his arm and broke a few fingers, making him howl in pain.

"Anytime now, sweetheart!"

"Bitch!"

"WRONG!"

And another streak of punches until his face was a bloody mess. Itami finally had enough of this.

"Kuribayashi, give him a break," he told her. She growled like an angry feline at the prince before standing up. Itami now towered over him.

"Talk," Itami ordered him in a cold voice. "Or I let her beat you to death."

Zorzal's fear showed in his eyes. Never before had anyone dare touch him, but beat him like this? And by a woman out of them all? Now this foreigner was pointing an instrument of death at his head.

Through a swelling face and bloody mouth and nose, he found the humility and power to speak. "In my mansion… cellar…" and he passed out.

With a smile, Itami nodded to his team. Kuribayashi was trying to get Akusho on radio. Sugawara once more turned to face Molt and Pina.

"Your Highness, excuse us as we save our citizens from this barbarian's home," he said as he gestured toward Zorzal's KO-ed form, not trying to be too diplomatic in his insult. "We shall continue our diplomatic talks after we see them safe and returned to our care. Princess Pina, we'd appreciate your assistance here to avoid more bloodshed."

"Of- of course!"

"Your love for your people is your weakness, Ambassador. You love them too much. And it will bring your nation down. Just as it did to an old kingdom from here," Molt pointed out.

Sugawara spared him one last sentence before departing with the princess and RCT3. "The army of our nation is the first to guarantee that such tragedies will not come to fruition."

As they left the palace escorted by Pina, they were already talking to the CO at Akusho.

"We've located the missing women. Requesting a special forces unit for a rescue op," Itami said.

" _Lieutenant, Alnus gave us the go ahead to do whatever is necessary to free them. Saber Team will be at the Jade Palace in short time to assist, rendezvous with them there."_

"Roger that!"

* * *

 **NOTE2:** Bloody hell, the story ain't dead. I just feel like I botched it up big time with not thoroughly thinking it through from start to end and I wanted the best way to impeach the cringy at times with the reasonable. I bring you what I hoped to be at least half of the planned Ch 35.

 **NOTE3:** Updates will be slow since I kind of also went ahead with my Mass Effect story (impatient bastard I am) and I may as well start working which will impact the writing and update speed of both the GATE and ME story. By the way, I still feel like I will botch it up in the end once more :( Alas, enjoy the extremely short chapter and I apologize for the long wait.


End file.
